Summer Primitives Ahoy!

Summer is in full swing and finally my jet lag is wearing off enough for me to enjoy it!

Somewhere between the unpacking and sleepy haze of the past week I was able to finish up a few summer projects to offer on the Early Work Mercantile for July.  I've discovered dolls are so much easier to complete when they are half naked.

Sam and his clams emerged in just two days from idea to final stitches.

I have been making these starfish for years but have never offered them to the public until now.  Made of vintage linen they are pure sun bleached summer breezes.

Swing by the Early Work Mercantile to see all the fresh offerings for July 1st from the best prim artists around! Then skip over to By Your Hands to visit my shabby chic alter ego on Up-Cycle Nation Monday.

For such a sleepy girl, I sure have been busy!

LOVE  &  NAP TIME!

Anchors Aweigh!

This is it!  The graduation weekend is here! Family has arrived, rehearsal is done, the big show is tomorrow morning and then I have officially reached that pinnacle of raising a teenager: the high school diploma!  The chains of high school drama, district boundaries, and attendance mandates have been flung off and the brave new world seems suddenly wide open with possibilities!

My daughter has already been to 90% of the US and Canada so when thinking of the ultimate graduation celebration destination we chose Thailand.  This time next week my daughter and I will be somewhere in the sky jetting off to meet Hubby who will be working in Bangkok.  Hubby has filled our heads with the sights and sounds of this exotic city and we are ready to leave behind the familiar for the great unknown.

With a 22 hour flight in my near future I have planned a very special anchor project that travels light with minimal fuss.  Yep- it's time to unfurl the travel cross stitch pack and needlework my way to the other side of the world.  In prep for a November art show in Galveston, I have designed an historical sampler centered with a giant anchor and southern charm.  (Sneak peeks to come in future posts.)

Anchors are iconic coastal life and ring in the summer with a promise of new memories and colossal adventures.  Now that Baby Girl is 18 and a high school graduate, a new chapter in our relationship begins.  I see her as a young adult about to set out on her life journey- one that includes the dreams of far off places, making a difference and discovering a new world to call her own.

 

LOVE  &  ANCHORS AWEIGH!

Summer Palette

Aaaaaahhhhhh summer!  That time when sales slow, whimsical demands dwindle and time for me to whip up a little something for myself.  My summer bag harbors stowaway projects worked as the sun rises and sets over the hotsy-totsy sands of the Gulf shore. 

I have been busy making linen flags to hang from my patio.  Using patterns from Robyn Pandolph Designs, I am replacing the called-for cotton fabric with my vintage cashmere wool. This dream fabric soaks up the summer dye palette of teal and pink perfect for shoreline living!

No backyard is complete without a summer banner!  To compliment the linen flags I am making a double sided chipboard banner.    The natural aging and buttery soft texture of 1886 paper on bright teal are pure lazy summer afternoons swung away in a shaded hammock!

 As the school year winds to a close, longer hours can be spent tending my personal projects.  I look forward to having my sisters-in-law in town next week for my daughter's high school graduation and know we will spend summer hours stitching, sipping Asti, and wishing such summer days could last a little longer.

 

 LOVE  &  LAZY SUMMER DAYS!

 

Journey Satchel

If I could sum up the past year in one word it would be "JOURNEY".  Yes, all in caps because the word is so versatile it can swing from a romantic ideal to a sarcastic enthusiasm for the year's events.  There have been incredible highs, new opportunities, speed bumps, trying lows and nail biting suspense.  I have weathered it all, held fast to the ship and currently use the word journey with deep gratitude.

Along this journey I have made unbelievable connections and formed friendships with artists I've admired for years.  I have leaped out of my reserved shell to promote my business. Failures became opportunities to improve and be better from the fall. I feel the approving hands of my ancestors guiding me on this journey and that is why I chose the whaling ship as my summer satchel theme.  With family roots deep in the early American whaling industry, the sea air is the wind in my soul.

I have a special project in mind for the first dozen of these wee gems which I will share in a later post.  The Journey Satchel is made of aged cotton, lightly stuffed with a mix of fiberfill and lavender flowers.  I hand pick the shells straight from the Galveston shore where wee shorebirds have done the piercing job for me. Placed by an open window, the breeze sends in light whispers of lavender.  A perfect summer scent for whatever journeys await us all just ahead.

 

LOVE  &  JOURNEYS

Kemah Strolling

Morning walks along the water are so refreshing.  The salty air, sail boats and laughing gulls set a cheerful tone for the day.

 

Kemah is a strolling fave as its gentle currents pour itself into the Texas Gulf against a backdrop of brightly colored amusement rides hushed silent by the early hour. Morning here is quiet, peaceful, and void of tourists.

 

 

Hubby has joined me this morning on my walk.  After time in Bangladesh he is wearing off jet lag enjoying the sweet sun sunshine unfettered by the smog and filth of Dhaka. 

Spending so much time apart, Hubby doesn't mind my need to photograph everything I see.  He is tolerant of my bird watching- my fascination with the comic gulls and stoic herons that dominate the pylons.

He understands my excitement as the local fishermen reel in a large black drum fish and show it off to boardwalk spectators before releasing the large fish back to the wild.

There is magic in the morning.  The details visitors don't see.  The simple nuances of time juxtaposed by weather and wanderers. 

 Mornings are meant for the observant and I am simple a steward of the lens capturing ordinary events in all their beauty and significance. 

 For these are the times that matter most- the easy hours spent in the company of those we love reveling in simple joys each day has to offer.

LOVE  &  ORDINARY MORNINGS