this idea came to me last night

I have a lovely friend who refers to me as "Design Mommy" because I am full of (constructive) criticism. We send each other designs and ideas to look over, and questions. I am super lucky to have her as a resource, and I hope I help her out a little too.

Last night, as I was tossing and turning and trying to put my brain to sleep, I was thinking this over. It's a great system, and I think everyone should have access.

So here's the idea, let me know what you think.

"Design Mommy" will be an online group blog where anyone can send a current design, craft, or art project for a constructive review. The submissions can either be made public to the blog (for public review) or more privately to the smaller group of chosen contributors. In addition to project reviews, the contributing bloggers would write about trends that they see (opinion pieces) or anything else that they think of.

I'd really like to know what y'all think, because I hope that you would participate. I think it would be a great opportunity for us to communicate and share what we are doing. It will also be a great opportunity to hone our critical skills (which get rusty when you're mainly working for yourself.)

It's also possible this exists already. Have you seen anything?

it didn't go as planned

but we made it home eventually, so I thought I'd make it a colorful memory.

I just have a word of advice. When you're out in the woods, don't take a trail that's not included in your trail book. Definitely don't take two, or three.

Do take a cab home when you realize you are in a town miles from where you started.

and speaking of collecting...

Just found this great blog via Swiss Miss. (Thanks Heidi!)

It's full of photos of collections! She is photographing or drawing a collection a day for the whole of 2010. It's inspiring.
Visit - A Collection a Day. 2010 soon, or you'll have a lot of catching up to do.


Maybe I can use it to curb my own collecting urges.

there's a new book on my wish list

Another great book featured on Book By Its Cover. Check out the link for more great pictures of the inside... and go here if you want to buy it for me right now.

Really! It's a book about how to make books from all the junk I've been collecting. Really!

this baby has a new look.

So I finally did it. I changed things up. The blog looks a little more like the shop site.

Tell me what you think about the redesign, and the header image (which will be changing around) and say goodbye to that brat and her cat.

because right now it's about quantity

Do you ever get distracted by life and forget how good it feels to just sit down and doodle? I've been getting some inspiration from this book, which I used to covet at my old job. P's mom got it for me for Christmas, and I remembered how much I love all the little bits and pieces.

It's nice to be able to translate it into my own thing. (PS - If you want it for yourself, which you should, get it from Borders, it's much cheaper.)

OH! and I'm realizing I need to add something else to my toolbox. I need some REALLY light prisma-color markers. I have the 20% Warm Gray and I love it.

Oh Subtlety.

and, by the way...

I still can't throw anything away.

A while back Patrick had the hack-saw out and asked if I wanted anything. I requested some little slices of dowel scraps.

Basically I was still in love with the idea of painting gouache on wood. It's so fun! So I took the little coins, sanded them down and drilled a hole through them.

I have a bunch of IDEAS for them, but I wanted to get one started first. In typical egocentric fashion I used an A from my Rob Roy book.

Then I painted it and some little floral designs around it.

After it dried I outlined it all with a nifty Sharpie Pen.

I'm still not sure what I will do with it... or the rest of them. I should probably varnish or something to protect the surface. Any ideas?

and you might wonder where I've gone.

Hi! I'm back. Sorry I was gone for so long... lots of little complications. You know. Life got in the way of my blog.

So, I'm here now, and I will try to be around a little more in the future (for my sake as much as yours.) Do you have anything you want to see? (Besides more pictures of my evil kitties.)