panic sets in (in a good way)

my very first market draws near. it will be on saturday and i'll have a table, together with jude & elizabeth at a spring market in sønderborg. the local fish shop guy had the idea last year and they hold four of them per year. it's a mix of food and handmade items and they want to have a focus on organic - i imagine the june and august markets will have more local food. but i imagine a lot of things about the market, because i've never been to it, nor have i ever participated as a seller myself.

sabin has selected a few of her stones to sell as well (tho' i have to sneak a few back out since i want them!)

it feels like i've been working towards it for forever and a day, but i suppose it's really only since january. i have quite a good stash of items built up, but there are lot of unfinished items as well, that aren't going to make it this time. i'm trying to be kind to myself about that. i have plenty - i have birds and stones, a couple of quilts, a tea cozy, a coffee cozy, some sweet little duvet covers for the baby duvets they use here in denmark (baby dyne, as they're called), garlands. lots of items.

a new helleristning viking ship - now i'm branching out a bit more from the originals.

my sewing machine broke down in earnest on the weekend and i was a bit panicked as i have a number of unfinished things for the market that need sewing. but i came up with an idea for some scarves made of jersey that won't need any sewing! i found beautiful, thin, soft jersey in soft spring colors and got out my gocco printer.

i drew up some feathers and burned two screens and got to work with the fabric inks. i've done plenty of gocco with paper in the past, but not much with fabric. i learned so much about how the ink behaves and how the screens behave. the hours melted away as i worked on the scarves. in a very good way. it was definitely a feeling of being completely in flow. and that's what it's all about, really.

i am absolutely delighted with how they turned out. again, an instance of something that's even better in reality than it was when the picture popped into my head. it's also an interesting exercise in how necessity does indeed breed invention. i was a bit panicked about my sewing machine and wasn't sure i'd get it back in time to finish the last items that i wanted to take to the market, but then this idea came to me (surely a product of hours of browsing goodness on blogs and online - but also my own) and i was able to do it without needing the machine.

better photos of the scarves once they're totally dry. i'm really excited how they turned out! and while i had the screens out, i did a little stack of moleskines with feathers for the market as well.

i have all day tomorrow to finish the items i can finish (i DID get my machine back - more on that later, as it's a story itself) and then i'm ready. i'm really ready. i have no idea whether anything will sell, but if it doesn't,  my etsy and big cartel shops will be well-stocked next week. and the process itself has been worth it.

procrastination with a capital "P"

why oh why oh why do i procrastinate? what is it that i think i get out of it? not much, truth be told. self-recrimination. panic (in the end). feelings of guilt for lack of productivity? but somehow, i am not able to work myself out of the procrastination rut i'm in this week. it doesn't make me feel the least bit good, so why do it?

i pondered this as i made gocco prints this morning for my latest swap. it seems that what i'm procrastinating is finishing several articles (all of which are open on my screen), not things like this, tho' the last time i participated in a swap, i also procrastinated it. so who knows what will trigger my tendency to procrastinate?

there's something so satisfying about little frosting peaks of ink in yummy colors.

(hmm, wonder if it's time for lunch.)

these are my most favorite colors..blues and greens. they make me feel relaxed.

sabin had doodled this design on a paper, so i snagged it.

i even made a couple of moleskine notebooks 

(perhaps one day i'll stop procrastinating that etsy shop)

this tree is one that sabin drew when she was 4.

i've long been wanting to do something fun with her drawing.

i decided that during october, we would eat a more vegetarian diet here at our house. less meat. we don't really need meat at every meal. it will be healthier and easier on the grocery bill. but now that october 1 is here, i'm already thinking, that seems like a lot of work, so maybe another time.  what is going on with me?

i have three half-finished articles open on my screen. i am now on day three of spending long stretches staring at them. what is it? why can't i wrap them up? i guess it's not so much procrastination as a block of some sort. but how do i clear it out? i thought perhaps indulging in creativity would help. the repetitive motion of printing gocco cards has given me plenty of time to think. so maybe it's time to give it another go. or perhaps i'll wait 'til tomorrow...

gocco swap: mission accomplished

i did it! i have completed my gocco cards for the swap. although  here this morning, at the eleventh hour, i decided to add some watercolor to the fish ones and then they had to dry. but, they are now, as we speak, residing in little puffy white envelopes at the local post office. it is such a relief to have them sent! i've only rec'd three so far from my swap group, so i'm not feeling THAT guilty, but it was just really unnecessary for me to wait. why do i procrastinate, especially when i LOVE doing this kind of stuff?

here are the green fish cards with some of the watercolor:

i put my "signature" on the back--a martini glass with a small "j."

i have a whole collection of martini glass stamps.

here are the packages, all wrapped up and ready. 

i included one of each color of the viking ships (2 of the neutral because it was coolest) and one fish in green. one package has two fish cards in it (one in green, one in purple), as i strangely had an odd number of black viking ships. not sure how that happened. i decided to give everyone a taste of the different colors, rather than doing one-color packages. that's just what struck me as right this morning as i packed them up.

now, i'm anxiously watching my own mailbox to see what more goodness is headed my way! this swap was great fun! i love seeing the creativity on the swap's flickr as well! there are so many creative people out there! it's fun to be part of the group! at least once in awhile! ;-)

sunday evening catch-up

it's been awhile since i was here. it was a busy week, what with traipsing around scotland and all--all for a business meeting which was supposed to last 1 hour, but which stretched to five and a half! thank goodness part of that was lunch! while i was in glasgow anyway, i squeezed in a haircut with the most fabulous hairdresser--she's now given me the two best haircuts i've ever had in my life. i'll have to take a picture as have thus far utterly failed to do so.

so, instead of my new hair, i give you my new shoes. they're el naturalista and i adore them, tho' i have no purple clothes whatsover, so they match nothing. they were just too fab to pass up.

and here's a shot of abbot's brae, where we stayed. although it looks rather fawlty towers, the couple who ran it were far, far from basil and cybil and we didn't see a single sign of manuel or polly. although very much off the beaten path (and far, far away from glasgow, where our meeting was), i would actually go back. with my husband and daughter, of course. someday.

the best way to reach glasgow was on a ferry, where i saw this rather humorous sign. i love the phrase "monkey island." i didn't try to go there. didn't really see the officer of the watch, or i might have asked.

45 minutes waiting for the ferry was just enough time for one of these. an ice cold tennant's.

since i got home, it's been panic on poppelvej, trying to finish or have the house finished enough for the party next saturday. we moved the dining table into the dining room today and ate our dinner at the actual table! that was wonderful. books go on the shelves tomorrow and the big buffet goes in on the far end. as soon as the electrician has been here.

this sign was right next to the monkey island one on the ferry, but i thought it appropriate.

we must remember this the next time we are about to spend hundreds of dollars on legos. child + cardboard box = hours of cheap fun. ok, this wasn't that cheap, since 4 hans j. wegner chairs came in these boxes, but the concept is good.

and to take a little break from all the hard work (that downstairs bathroom is small, but it took FOREVER to clean it!) i finally finished up my cards for the gocco swap. but weren't you supposed to be finished on the 21st, you ask? why, yes, i was, but i procrastinated and only did it today, but i will be sending them tomorrow!  don't the inks look beautiful? i was mixing green and pearly blue. first time i tried that--super fun!

the used lightbulbs looked so pretty sitting on sabin's desk on top of her colorful mandalas.

since i live in denmark, i had to do a viking ship, tho' the one i modeled it on is in norway. i figured that was ok since i actually work in norway. and who knows, maybe we'll move there soon?! here's the inked screen. there's just something about that glistening ink that makes me happy!

and stacks of cards drying on the racks.

i'll be sending them off tomorrow to my swap mates. i've gotten a couple of packages of goodies from my swap group and i can't wait to see what else i'll get!  i don't really know why i procrastinated it, it was so much fun! and it's even more fun getting little packages of other people's creativity in the mail.

i'll keep you all posted on the house progress this week, as aside from an editorial for marine electronics and a quick (work) story arising from last week's trip, i'm going to be painting and putting all of our stuff into place this week.

i'm so excited!

i got my first cards in the mail today from my gocco swap group! they're so cute and are even available in this etsy shop if you like them too. it's just so much fun! but, i'd better get busy on my own!!!

thanks, susan! these are just so cute!!! some will be headed your way soon!

failed to filch friday

it's a bit cloudy and rainy and even a little chilly and i wasn't feeling very inspired on a friday. so naturally, i went looking for something to filch.

instead of filching, i found something inspiring! and it involves using my gocco!

i'm going to participate in a gocco swap initiated by clothpaperstring. how cool is that?

you make 4-6 notecards and envelopes and send to those who are on your swap team! i'm so excited! i've not really tried this aspect of the blogosphere as of yet, but i think it's gonna be fun! there's still time to sign up 'til july 21, so if you have access to a gocco, go for it! :-)

gocco goodness

in typical procrastination mode this morning, instead of tackling my growing to do list, i was suddenly inspired to make a few gocco prints with my nifty little printer. first, i drew a dandelion and made a print master of it.

then i put burgundy ink on it (it looks rather red here)

then i printed it on some gorgeous little moleskein cahiers notebooks

then i cleaned the master and put gold ink on it.

and i made a few more notebooks.

this is what i'm going to put up on etsy.

i've been promising myself to do so for months now.

somehow fear has stopped me.

but now i'm ready.

the dandelion, a cheery little flower that spreads its seeds of possibility to the winds.

fun, fun, fun!

this is a PG-5 print gocco machine

invitations to our housewarming party

printed on the gocco

now with inside printed they're drying in the window.

i adore these colors.

when i was in the philippines last month, i bought this wonderful little gocco printer from a very sweet woman named khristine whom i corresponded with online and who had her husband deliver the goodies to my hotel.  i had learned about the existence of gocco printers--a little japanese device made by riso--on etsy, that bastion of creativity to which i may or may not be addicted, depending on how you define addiction.  i prefer to call it inspiration. but i digress...

so i have finally gotten it out and figured out how to use it.  although i have not yet gotten too fancy--using multiple colors and such, i have learned how it works and i've made two prints--one for the front of my invitation and one for the inside.  i'm pretty pleased with myself, i must say.

for the front, i copied one of the architect's drawings of our addition, then i stamped bubbles where the house itself invites to the party.  on the inside, it's just straight text with the party details.  i'm going to make one more print--this time a fun one, for the inside cover.  i'm still working out exactly what that will be.

i'm so excited!  thank you, khristine, for going out of your way to get this little printer to me! it's so much fun to have a new kind of creative outlet!