Handmade Goodness

In search of a little inspiration, the fall has brought some handmade creations of a different sort.

With my mom's help, the Lambretta got a (much-needed) new blue seat cover along with more cush for my tush.

My second round of glass blowing classes has been challenging, but the things that have survived to bring-it-home-stage are looking more interesting.

And a trip to the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore for Sock Monkey Saturday brought a new addition to our family--I call her Esmeralda.

Up next, my new favorite bit of greenery--moss!

Progress

Cleaning up a mess is never as fun as making one, but sometimes it just needs to be done. I spent some time over the past week putting things in order and thought I'd take a moment to share the progress and offer a look into the Polly Scoots workroom.

My two main work surfaces are a super-fun peanut shaped red table and a super-functional unconventional workbench. The peanut table came from Ikea; the unconventional workbench was pieced together from pieces found at Community Forklift, a great surplus, salvaged and green building material supply center.

The top of my bench is a solid wood door (which just happened to exactly match the closet doors in my house). One "leg" was the base of a kitchen cabinet; the other was intended as a hanging unit. Together they make my workbench the perfect height--comfortable to stand at while working.

My fall cleaning binge inspired me to create a "shipping center" on one corner of the table devoted to envelopes, bubble wrap, boxes and my trusty scale. I also restocked my "customer appreciation supplies"--thank you cards, coupons and fun freebies to include with every order. Let your holiday shopping begin!

Buy Handmade

Okay, I'm coming off a serious creative binge and my room (not quite worthy of the 'studio' designation at the moment), is a disaster area. Prep for the DC Craft Mafia's holiday show on Saturday had me working overtime, while keeping up with Polly Scoots online and mailing out yummy packages to my awesome customers.

The result: it's time for some serious organizing. And while I'm at it, I need to find a home for my six foot tall ficus who will be wintering inside. What does all this have to do with the handmade pledge badge up above?

Dealing with the mess makes me a little batty. Since I've told myself I can't make anything new until things are in order, and putting things in order for long stretches of time really isn't all that enjoyable, I thought I'd remind myself of the bigger picture and part of the reason its all worthwhile--handmade really is better.

There's nothing I find scarier than flying into a new city and, on the drive from the airport to your hotel, realizing that the plane could have touched down in just about any city U.S.A. and looked just about the same. How long would it really take you to figure out you weren't where you were supposed to be? That the pilot headed north instead of south? That you AND your bags landed at the wrong airport?

How do you tell where you are when the strips malls, chain restaurants and suburban sprawl lining the highway look so much like what you passed on the way to the airport? Mega box stores, outlet malls, brand-name hotels, chain restaurants--it's all the same, same same.

How much different, how much more unique would the landscape look if only there was a place to buy handmade? If you didn't have to hunt for the quirky, arty neighborhood in the revitalized area downtown to find something truly unique?

A blustery day

Well, it's a good thing I spent some time earlier this week cutting out the backdrops for some new scarves. I just returned from a ride into the city on this, a very blustery day indeed. I was oh so happy to have a fuzzy fleece scarf wrapped snuggly around my neck.

I've got a new idea or two in mind for the applique and plan to get stitching soon. Look for them on Polly Scoots soon!

Ho hum

So life has been pretty boring for me of late. A nasty head cold followed by a sprained ankle have had me feeling rather "ho hum." And, worst of all, have kept me off my scooter for almost three weeks now--needless to say, I'm getting a little stir crazy!

This lack of mobility has left me feeling rather sluggish on the creative side as well, but I did manage to get a piece finished (all be it a week late) in response to the creative challenge in the Etsy forums. My entry, some hot new stickers (pictured above), feature cayenne, purple haze, nectar, mint leaf and corn silk from the fall color chart.

My ankle is slowly getting better and I have high hopes for getting back in gear soon!

Quirky, creative fun

JewelStreet on Etsy makes some gorgeous jewelry (as you can see above) and hosts something really fun in the Etsy forums: the weekly Creative Challenge. Back in the fall I was participating fairly regularly, but things got hectic this spring and I petered out.

The heat at home (it was 90 degrees in our living room at 11 p.m. Saturday night) has left me pretty lethargic, but I finally got up off my keester and put something together that combines two recent creative challenges: Paris (#60) and the colors of the rainbow (Roy. G Biv, #61).

The result was this quirky bit of colorful fun: Gnomes and scooters and Paris on stickers, oh my!

Fun with color

Handcoloring black and white photographs is one of those things I've just wanted to know how to do. I signed up for a class a year or two ago, but it was cancelled due to low enrollment. Last fall, I cashed in a birthday gift certificate for a how-to book and the necessary supplies.

Then I broke out the old SLR (and some actual film) and got busy taking some new black and white photos. After getting the enlargements made, I had fun "coloring" my world. I experimented with pastels first, but found I really prefer using photo oils. The resources were right (duh) and coloring photographs is as much about taking away color as it is applying it. It's also about highlighting the details captured in the original photograph.

The photos that fit the theme of Polly Scoots will make their way to the website--two have already found their way there. The others will grace my walls for the time being.