A few of my favorite things

Checking in between holidays here is a task. But it's one that's allowed me time to comtemplate what a beautiful Christmas we had. In anticipation of a post Christmas post I thought of all the gifts I both gave and received that I wanted to share with you. It felt insufficient somehow, though, to let that speak for what it was like here. I couldn't sum up the beauty of our time together with photos of things. Of course, also it's really impossible to photograph the feelings or thoughts I had throughout these past several days. Visuals win. But. It only scrapes the surface of our fun.



So if I had to choose some favorites that I was personally spoiled with it's the items above. Someone knows me well. Also my mom treated me to being an absolute brat by splurging on this. I don't even know what I'm gonna bake first, I just wanna stare at it against my turquoise kitchen wall for awhile. She also got Juliana her very first, very own sewing machine, and I topped the gift with a pile of fanciful fabrics.



Some of the funnier moments definitely were in our family conquering of the gingerbread house. We were too late in getting to Costco in time to get the kit at the advice of both my neighbor and Heather. They were gone when we got there. Somehow we decided we could build a Rice Krispie house. It started out great, I even bricked and mortered a gorgeous chimney out of twizzler bits. The kids made a darling sidewalk lined with lollipop street lamps. We decided we should let it harden more before we put on the roof. We came back to find it bending all wurvy-curvy. We laughed and cried and we ate lots of Rice Krispies for many days.



Not one to be defeated, Juliana found a homemade recipe for real gingerbread and dug in. Boy, that was a two day process. We even had a plastic army guy battle in the snow(flour). We ended up with family self-portrait cookies, and a big gorgeous house constructed with homemade Royal icing that dried hard as a rock! And I completely forgot to take a picture before the kid wrecking ball hit it. mmmm. Stale and sweet, and they didn't seem to mind a bit.

We made a game room for the kids in an unused room off the garage, I'll share a look at that soon. Keeping it a secret has been quite an adventure. But suffice it to say, Nicolas, who has the habit of being hard to please, informed me that we "don't ever have to buy him another present ever again". It was a good one, I guess.



I have really resisted walking into the studio at all this week. I've had a nice break and a chance at some of those bigger picture thoughts with my work. I can't see through the fog of everyday tasks sometimes, and lose sight of what I'm trying to accomplish. What got me inspired to come in here today was needing to get up these framed drawings from my first college drawing class. That put me back together again after settling into a homebody the past week. I've got a lot to look forward to in 2007. This little homage to things past on my studio wall is helping me look forward.



So just a few more days to enjoy the extra glow of sparkle and cheer in our house before we box it up. Then we'll be back to our everyday energy of busy-ness here. We'll be fortified though with some extra sugar, extra giggles, extra cuddles and of course some new toys and amusements here and there.

Enjoy the last bit of this year. And a very Happy New Year to you, thanks for giving me such a welcome and friendly place to share. You are all so cool!

xoxo, Anna Maria

Merry Christmas!

May all the doors you walk through be warm and welcoming and may all your hearts be filled with the Miracle of Christmas!

With Love and Peace, Anna Maria

That's a wrap folks!

Can you hear that? It's the twittering of little partridges in my head. Singing a chorus of rest, relaxation and merry-making. They started when Jeff called to tell me he has tomorrow off. Ahhhh. Off. All of us here together.

The studio is officially not a studio for the next week or two. It is a giftwrapping mecca today. Who knows what it will be tomorrow.

Thought you may want to see some of the ideas we've come up with this year for extra cute packages. There are so many beautiful things you can do, of course. Seeing as how it's the 21st though ....not a ton of time on the hands. But I'm guessing that, like me, you've definitely got some fabric and leftover felt on your hands, from all the other fun projects. Hmmm. Here's some simple no sew fun to top your goodies.



The first and most obvious, let's rip strips of fabric and use in place of ribbon. More cozy, right? Oh, and kids love to rip! Just give the fabirc a little snip with the shears and let it rip!



On others we fanfolded a rectangle of additional fabric and tied into the bow. I think this is my favorite.



A simple paper snowflake laced down with a remnant trim made this little lovely. Okay, wait, I think this is my favorite. Especially on a blue box. We go paper snowflake mad around here at Christmas time. I'll share our snow scene once the blizzard in the playroom is complete. I love it because there is no hurry to take down the snowflakes after Christmas, they can be piled up with hearts in February and not be out of date.



And these little blossoms are just two layers of cut felt with pig-snout slits cut into them. I strung a double strand of yarn through them like a button and tied a bow. Then I seperated the strands of yarn on the sides of the box and taped them down in back to secure. So it's a three-way tie for my favorite actually.

Hope that gives you some good ideas if you're a lookin.

Back to it. I'm really hoping to give you a baklava present tomorrow, we'll see how the day off goes. Hopefully nice and slow. If you don't get it, maybe it will be your New Year's gift.

xoxo,AM

Scrappy Holidays

So here's another place that the ever wonderful felt has shown up, way up. Maybe not high enough up though. My 6'5" husband's black curls graze it a bit as he comes into the dining room. He hasn't complained yet. I'd say he's pretty use to it by now. Or maybe he just knows I wouldn't move it anyway. Oh and it's reversible too, since it hangs in a doorway, and no one named Leon lives here.



We've been working away at a big surprise for the kids.....more later. I'll also soon be honoring my ethnic obligation of making baklava for friends and neighbors, but it's best when fresh, so patience. Details on pronunciation and a recipe to follow. If I am getting cards out (please no please no please no) I'd better do it. I really would have had it done by now. For the past 2 weeks straight someone has been cashed on the couch or in bed due to some sickness. Not a cute scene for a family picture.



The hutch in the dining room is getting piled up with sweets from neighbors and goodies from clients. Ooo the perks.

Hoping there is some Joyeux in your house to go with the Noel in mine.
xoxoxo,AM

Makin' a list

Actually makin' the presents too! Wow, checking it twice is very involved, racking the brain to be sure I haven't forgotten anything. 2006 has been the year of the Bohemian for me, so I am making lots of gifts using it. I used Jenny's adorable coaster idea for a gift for Jeff's grandma. She had been wanting to see the fabrics I designed, so I thought this was a fun way to give her a little piece of lots of them. And she does like to protect those tabletops, you know.



Let's see, what other family members don't read this blog...hhmmm, oh for my niece Sophia, I've made a fabric journal cover.



She has become quite the author/illustator as of late, and she needs a stylish spot to be just that. I considered painting a cover design right onto the journal...but this way she will be able to continue to use this cover as she fills up book after book.





And no collection of short stories is complete without an "about the author" column inside the back cover. What an accomplished 11 year old!

Let's see, golfballs for Grandpa Ben...which look cuter wrapped......oh hey look at that wrap! Can you find it?



Look familiar? I found it at Pier 1. Hhmm, did I copyright that design? Just kidding! I think a standard geometric, such as this, is about as copyrightable as a polka dot. Now if all the colorization were the same too, this would be a different post all together. It would be a Pier 1 expose! Let's just call me a trendsetter and leave it at that! Yea, I like that. So if you are making any Boho gifts this year, get somma that there wrap!

I don't think I ever showed you the full view of the quilt I started a ways back. The quilt is part of a gallery show here in Nashville currently, and maybe will become someone's Christmas present. Here she is.



I named it Slow Dance. Gina did a beautiful job quilting it for me. You'll have to click for the larger view to see the stitch pattern, it shares the pointy oval shape motif like those formed by the two intertwining strips to the right...nice. The overall movement of the quilt was inspired by the Vine fabric, which is the purplish/pink one. I just worked away at it without a plan, cutting, placing, piecing, I did some hand applique as well with the curvey strips. The name for it came about through the feeling of the process. It was slow, but comfortable and warm. Like a slow dance with someone you love.

I've really been enjoying all the quilts coming out of my Aussie friends' shop from the Bohemian line. These ladies, if you haven't dropped in on them are amazing. We've formed quite a nice little friendship through blogging and emailing and sharing. Expect more great things from them, they are quite talented and inspiring!!

Back to elf-ing and anticipating. xoxo,AM

Tag I'm it

Alright. Let's pretend for a minute that this blog isn't at all narcissistic. Let's pretend that no blogs are narcissistic and that this here post is just an exception. Let's chalk it up to a long week of product development, Christmas gift making, homework, shopping, laundry, and every member of the family taking their turn at an illness that varies from highfever * throwingup * headache to midgradefever * exhausted * coughing uncontrollably. Well everyone but me, someone has to wash all those sheets, towels, matresses and eveything else that the you know what gets on.

On with the prettier images.



Yes, I know this has nothing to do with the month of December or cozy holiday imagery. Nothing in product design is ever time appropriate. But I just approved my final samples of some summer table linen collections I designed for Peking Handicraft. I am so excited. The linens are great, certainly, four collections in all. But the real excitement you ask? I've been tagged! As in little hangtags that will go on every little last of the thousands of products. So exciting.



When I was a girl, I had a bulletin board filled with a collection of tags from all my favorite clothing labels, Esprit, Betsey Johnson, Op, Benetton. While I don't think there are any housewives out there who will be collecting my tag as part of their cool home decor product tags collection....I'll be saving an extra one or two for myself. Let the teasing ensue, but yay me anyway.



So this is today's little 2x2 glossy folding hole-punched material clue that I am getting somewhere this week. Getting everyone healthy will be quite an accomplishment too. Next I will post something completely not about me. Ha. As if. Who are we kidding?

Give yourself a pat on the back today for something little, you deserve it.

xoxo,AM

Tag you're it

So if you've seen this little goodie over at the homework section of my website (which needs updating!), excuse the recycling. I'm very busy with some greeting card work at present (pun intended) so thought I'd share another printable.



Let all sets of eager young hands in your house cut and color these after you've printed them out on cardstock. Throw in a hole punch and some festive ribbon and you'll have yourself some swanky little gift tags. Maybe then they'll leave you alone for a while (well its worth a try).



Enjoy little (or not so little) people.

xoxo,AM

Painted Presents

So, my holiday decorating is a weeks-long ordeal and not really perfected until it's about time to pack it all up. I keep finding little spots here and there that need a drizzle of sparkle or a dash of hue. One of my rules (probably the only one) is that I do it a little differently every year. It's a rule I can follow well, considering I can never remember how I did things the year before anyway.



I thought you may like to see & learn about these little "gifts" that I made last year. I had painted them for a gallery show and made tons more as presents for friends. They are quick, fun, and versatile. And while you could make them as elaborate or as simple as you wish, they don't require any major artistic talent, or too much moulla (mulla?).



Here's how they're made: I took small scale deep-stretcher (as in thick sides) canvases, ribbon, paint, gold leaf, printed out text, and in some cases fabric. In the ones where I used fabric, I just Modge-Podged pieces of printed fabric right onto the canvas as my base. Then I painted over with watered down acrylics to let some of the print show through. I then decoupaged a computer-printed out word with more Modge-Podge. On some I would go back in with more paint as necessary. I used a simple gold-leafing kit to trace over and guild the words. Others I freehanded the text, and some I cut up the letters to make it look all ransom-letter like. As in "have J-O-Y or else!" Wrapping ribbon around, tying a bow, and securing with hot glue is the last step. Now it looks like a present! They are deep enough to stand on their own securely, as long as you keep the dimensions no larger than 8-10" or so.



Choosing your words, could be based on groupings, like "comfort" & "joy", or specific to the person you'd like to give it to. You could make a whole lyric from a Christmas carole with one canvas for each word and display all along your mantle. They are just as cute hung on the wall all year long too. Especially if you choose less seasonal words like "dream" or "hope".

Onward march, holiday soldiers!

xo,AM

It's a HOOT!

I keep my promises. I said I would give you a cut-out for more felt fun and here it is. Along with some more inspiration from Juliana on other great shapes. Just click on the instruction image below and save the larger file in the new window to your desktop then print it out. From me to you! Also, if you packaged it along with the required materials in a clear freezer bag, you'd have yourself a fantastic gift! Share the love!






Gather up your gear my friends, the weekend is on it's way.
I'm looking out at our first spitting of snow here in Tennessee.

xoox,AM

Holiday Spirits

Woman cannot survive on felt and fabric alone. But I've skipped many a meal trying! Often a holiday meal is started, finished, or completely comprised of (woops) a lovely cocktail. The cocktail. It's inspired much, but lets focus on the positive things, like fun products. Maybe I don't share enough of the real work that I do sometimes. So I thought I would feature some more of my product design work here for kicks.



Like I had mentioned a ways back, my clients often tap me for my gab, and wordplay and not just artwork. I've had literally hundreds of items produced by manufacturers that bare my silly ideas like these multiple choice napkins. If you want to find some for yourself or as a gift you could try here or here or ZGallerie carries them in the stores, if you've got one near you. Above is just one version manufactured by PPD.



With the season comes many a spirited carole, which I've played around with. These are just one set of appetizer plates out of three that I designed for Boston Warehouse Trading Co. You can find these here. Oh yea! Target online has them too! They come in a nifty little gift box all tied up with ribbon. Fun gift.



And if you are no genius behind the bar, or just want some SERIOUS eye candy, you should nab this book. It is packed with gorgeous photos and many creative cocktails, both classics and some wacky newcomers bound to please. It's just plain pretty too. And shouldn't holiday spirits be pretty?

Bottoms up!!

Oh and I haven't forgotten the kids (how could I?) Go here for our cocoa cocktail idea!

xoxo,AM

Illuminated

We all know how this goes. You get everything out of the attic. The children can't wait to get their anxious fingers on the stash of surprises in the boxes marked "xmas". You verbalize the careful order of how the tree gets trimmed, which sails through one elf ear and out the other. You hold them off long enough to get to the lights.

Hmmm.

This is where I get lost. Can you call them lights if they don't light up when you plug them in? Does this have to happen every year? Out to Walgreens I went after placing Juliana in charge and throwing candy canes at them to keep them sticky and busy until I got back. The new lights are lovely though, and long!



The rest of the rituals ensued. Juliana being in charge of secretly rearranging ornaments when the little ones turned their backs so that all the ornaments don't stay on the lower 1/3 of the tree. They just kept coming back and putting them in the same spot not ever figuring out why that branch was still vacant. So cute.

Every year I have to show them (again) my favorite two ornaments that I used to hang on my parents' tree. One, the golden boot. Isn't it gorgeous? It was always magical to me. And two, the beaded ballerina....do you love her?? No surprise my favorites were a colorful girl and a gold accessory. Go figure.



I know I'm not alone in feeling that Christmas decorating is about memories. It's like opening up a photo album of your childhood. But instead of looking at just photographs of yourself and your family, you're feeling and touching your warmest memories all over again. And they are all there, packed up carefully in a box waiting for you to remember every year.



I also love this little Nativity that was handmade and given to my Juliana when she was little. It is so humble and simple. A perfect reminder of the humble story of the birth of Christ. The simple offerings of the wise men. Look at how the light through the window caught Joseph today. In fact the phone just rang to let me know that my Joseph is at school with a fever and needs to be picked up. Gotta run.

So that's today. Thanks for everyone's lovely wishes for Isabela and the little arm, she's doing great.

Wishing you illuminated days & hearts in anticipation of a beautiful Christmas.

xoxo,AM

Cozy up with a Blanket

The blanket stitch is the key to instant success with felt. It just sounds so comfy too, who wouldn't try it. I was hoping to get this all in pdf form for you, but alas we made another trip the the ER, this time with Isabela (5). She broke her arm, poor punkin. She was so brave. We weren't in bed till about 2am, so its been a slow day here. I'm thinking a couture sling is in order. But for now, while she naps, why don't you try this with me. I wanted you to have this in time for your weekend!

Gather your felt, 6-strand embroidery thread, embroidery needle and scissors



*1* Cut out lots and lots of felt cirlces in pairs. Each circle in the garland should be double layer, either matching or different on each side. For about a 5 or 6 foot garland, I cut out about 60 sets. I traced a spool onto one piece of felt then I just used this as a template to cut the rest.

*2* Do what I call a "pinch stitch" in one of the pieces about one 1/4 inch away from the edge. This is just a little anchoring stich that doesn't quite go all the way through the material, so that it won't show on the other side.



*3* On the other circle, stitch through the felt, also about 1/4 inch away from the edge, as you layer it on top of the first piece.

*4* Before pulling through all the slack in your thread, send your needle through the loop that is left and pull gently to tighten up against the edge of the circle. Your two pieces should now be sandwiched together nicely to begin.



*5* Enter from the back now, about 1/4 inch from the edge and 1/4 from the first stitch.

*6* And once again instead of pulling your slack totally through let your needle first pass through the remaining loop before tightening the stitch.



*7* Continue this blanket stitch (steps 5&6) all the way around the circle, taking care to make your stitches both even from each other and from the edge of the circle.

*8* When you reach the beginning stitch again, pass the needle through the very first anchoring loop that you made.



*9* Now turn the circle over on the back and you will see where it is missing one "ray" of a stitch. Make this stitch only by going through the back piece of felt and coming back out the top where your first stitch was made.

*10* Loop through that same first loop again and before pulling all the way through pass the needle through the loop once more and tighten up into a little knot.



*11* Now to tuck your tail, nestle the needle between the two pieces of felt and come out a little ways away through the back. Trim off your remaining thread as close to the felt as possible.

*12* Stringing the circles now is sort of like stringing popcorn! Thread a long length of embroidery thread and when you tie the knot at the end, tie a long loop into the knot. This loop will be how you help hang the garland. Next make a tiny achoring stitch at one end of the circle then pass the needle through the two pieces of felt and out the other side. Continue through all your circles, carefully nestling the needle through the felt sandwiches so that no stitches are made.



Voila!! Wow that felt good.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we have. There are tons of fun color combinations you could do or just wacky multi-colored like we did. I also chose my embroidery thread at random for the blanket stitches. You could also make the circles a little larger and insert a cotton ball inside after you've stiched around the cirlce about 2/3's of the way. That would make the little circles poofy and ball-like.

Promise to share our fun cut-out ornament patterns soon!

xoxo,AM