Garden Extraveganza!

So all the plans & projects I've been working on all have been waylaid for the past couple months because of one thing-my garden! I love being outside & on top of that I bought my first house at the beginning of the year, so next on my list of fun things is customizing my new home to fit my tastes. Most of the yard was grass & the flower beds that existed were full of scraggly half dead bushes, rocks, weeds, more rocks, gross things I don't want to mention, and did I say rocks?? We've been pretty lucky the weather has been relatively nice here in Michigan, so I've gotten lots of opportunities to go out and work on covering my backyard & part of my front yard w/ gardens. I also did a lot of work by my patio, where I took out a retaining wall, leveled out the dirt to the rest of the yard, & laid the sod I took out of the garden into the dirt. Talk about sweat equity!! I took some before & after pics of all my hard work & posted them for your enjoyment. Cheers!!

Sewing Machine Bliss

Back story: My mom was an amazing quilter. I say was because almost 6 years ago now, she passed away from a year long battle with leukemia. My mom was a quiet person, liked to be by herself and do her own thing. If you didn't know her, you'd think with her spunky attitude that quilting would be the farthest thing from one of her hobbies. But since highschool she started dinking around quilting and soon excelled at it. She started small, did some other crafts like cross stitch and making gifts for our teachers over the years, but in the later years she focused on quilting and trying different and creative things with new techniques and fabrics. She made probably hundreds of quilts, most of which she gave to others as gifts. She even started the tradition of giving all my cousins a baby quilt and when they turned 13 they would get another one all their own. We still have a lot of quilts to continue that tradition there are still 4 girls left to get one. What a treasure for them! We also received our fair share of bed quilts, lap quilts, quillows (a quilt that turned into a pillow), wallhangings and now dozens of unfinished, almost done or just started, quilts to complete.

I can't say I'll ever have all those quilts completed. Part of it is time and money, maybe the other part is keeping the memory of that was moms and she left it the way she wanted it. Maybe not quite thought through yet on what she wanted to do or she was waiting for a new line of fabric to come out to complete the thought. Not sure.

My mom had in recent years purchased a beautiful digital sewing machine, so her first expensive maching sat idle in the closet for years. The digital machine went to her good friend who is still putting it to great use! The old machine I wanted to resurrect and thought it might not as the pedals went missing. But weeks later, my dad found them! Mom's friend, Mary, checked out the machine and said it works great just needs a cleaning. So dad brought it up this weekend!

I am not a quilter by any stretch of the imagination. I wish I spent more time learning from her. But since joining Etsy and finding so many inspirational sites on easy projects, I wanted to get that machine going! I found Amy Butler and her fabrics and designs about a year ago when I was looking for a diaper bag pattern. I have since checked out her books and the design of her fabrics, bags, paper and all of other simple crafts are so beautiful to look at! It reminds of me going to antique shops and seeing old quilts stacked up thinking of who cuddled up in those or who did they comfort?

From there, my inspiration comes from my daughter, who is 8 months and cute as a button. I'd love to make her sundresses and a blankie. I also purchased a handbage off of Etsy that is beautiful and wondered if I could do something like that? Here is a site on Etsy to buy Amy's fabric or a host of other beautiful patterns: fabricsupplies.etsy.com

So with all that said, I may never make beautiful queen sized quilts and spend hours cutting up small squares of fabric ready for assembly, but I could create memories for my kids as I've recalled my own memories with my mom. All because of a sewing machine.

Asparagus

Over the long 4th of July weekend I worked on a little food photography for the cook book. And when I say a little I mean just some asparagus. :) Here are a few of my favorite images from the shoot! I'm really enjoying the depth of field the lens (100mm) is allowing me to achieve. I'm able to pick out a specific area of focus and let the rest of the image just melt away. Whoo hoo!! One image is a little cooler than the other in terms of color correction, but I like the feel of each on its own. I figure the difference won't matter when we throw it into the cookbook with some of Christie's great design! :)

Food photography

from Lara Robby Photography

One of the projects Christie & I are planning together is a cookbook. Her in-laws are phenomenal cooks so we're going to take their recipe's and combine them w/ some of my food photography & voila! Cookbook magic :) I've been researching food photography and came up with some photographers that I LOVE! Check out Lara Robby's Photography at http://lararobby.com/1food.html

Sneak Peek

Thought I'd share some "before" pics of the boxes I mentioned in my 'New Desk' post. These are the pieces of wood I'm going to upcycle into a new work desk for my studio. They were actually pretty easy to take apart-surprising with the amount of rust on the bolts! I have a few design ideas for the table but have yet to pin one down. Right now I'm going to use the spray painted side boards for the top surface, some of the bottom boards as side panels, & the steel pieces to anchor the legs to the table top. Doesn't make sense? Stay posted for some "in progress" & "after" pics!

I still love the idea of having a one of a kind desk built from old wood, which was part of the burgeoning community in which I live and work. It's kind of like taking a part of history bringing it into your own life & lifestyle. I can't wait to have it finished! :)

Btw: found this site today-LOVE the photography! http://www.noa-noa.dk/

Start and stop, start and stop

Geez, you'd think with all the millions of ideas running through my brain I could pick one of those things to write about. Nope. Start, stop ,delete is what I'm doing. Maybe it's the humid weather that we're finally getting here in West Michigan.

Family seems to be a topic I've been dealing with lately. So my grandparents are having their 50th Wedding Anniversary this year and they want to have an updated extended family picture (thank goodness, the last one was in 1995 or something). So we've been toying around with different ideas, some standard white and khaki, but I was reading one of my many blogs the other day and came across this idea:

(photo from: http://lifeisallaround.typepad.com/)

I found out from her post that they used teal, navy and white top with jean or khaki bottoms. I love the look of this picture as it breaks up everyone with pops of color, not overbearing and they don't look like a generic family. Along with the different color scheme, she made it look a bit vintage with a little help from Photoshop I'm sure. Now to convince 27 other people that this is the way to go..... I still have a couple months. :)

Bringing it closer to home, we're trying to make some adjustments in our unexpectedly growing family. I found this bed idea for our daughter Anna (on http://www.designspongeonline.com/) that 1: my husband really liked a lot, 2: it works with our multipurposed theme we're trying to do throughout our house with the chalkboard back which could be anything and storage/dresser under the bed and 3: it's super cute and we could probably make it (with a little help from dad I'm sure)!

This also reminds me the bed I had made when I was in college for my summer stays with the parents. Because I wasn't home much anymore, I had switch with my brother from my huge room to a tiny room. It had 4 drawers underneath my bed so I didn't have to fit a dresser in there. It worked out well and now my brother, after using it for quite a few years himself, is passing it off to some cousins that need it and will fit on it. :)

Personally, I'm working on a few ongoing projects at home. Nothing as cool as what Jenn's been up to, but I'm repainting a childrens bench (the one with the wrought iron sides and wood slats) a bright yellow to add to our newly landscaped front yard. I'm also hoping to pick up some flower pots this weekend, repaint them the same yellow and place them on our front steps. As yellow seems to be my theme this spring, I'm hoping to repaint our main floor bath a #2 pencil yellow and use an Etsy purchase and other items I'm repurposing for this "remodel" job. I'll post pictures upon completion (don't hold your breath)!

Have a happy, hot and humid weekend b/c we are!

New Desk

I've been getting more and more into recycle, reuse, and upcycling these days. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upcycle) Most of the time I recycle because I'm financially limited, but I think being creative about old things-furniture especially, can lead to really creative cool pieces that are one of a kind & better for the environment. Here's a pic, sorry no before image :( I forgot, of a desk I acquired from my Grandma. I re-painted it a la Pottery Barn, using a semi-gloss Behr paint from Home Depot & the original hardware. Before it's green make over it was a worn brown stain & some of the drawers had chipped veneer's. I sanded it down before I painted, took off the chipped veneer, & filled cracks w/ wood putty. The whole project cost about $20, was really easy, & one of my sisters actually commented that it "looked right out of Pottery Barn!" :)


The next project I'm working on is a work table for my studio. I'm using re-claimed wood from some factory boxes that were out on the curb for free! Is there any other way? ;) I'll post pics of the progress so we can see the before & after of my upcycled worktable!

Journals!

One of my stuffed journals :)

"To lose a passport was the least of one's worries. To lose a notebook was a catastrophe." -Bruce Chatwin

I attended a virtual lab on book binding last night on Etsy, and one of the presenters had this quote on the inside of one of their journals. I think it's perfect in defining my attitude toward journaling/sketchbooks.

I started really journaling when I was a high schooler & the majority of the pages were filled with teenage angst. What a world! hehehe. Now days I keep a journal handy for any snippets of inspiration I need to put down on a page before I forget them. I use them as records for photographic information, for example exposure settings I used for a certain frame. I also tend to dedicate entire journals to projects I'm working on. I put all sketches, ideas, polaroids, information, and literature into the journal so I can quickly reference anything I need to bring a concept to fruition.


I am definitly a person you could define as someone w/ a wander lust, and I travel as much as I can afford. When I am on a trip I'm addicted to writing in my journal. I love taking some time at the end of my busy adventure filled day just to write down what was going on during the day, do some sketching, write down some ideas to test when I get home, and paste in some photos. The journal to the below features time I spent in New Mexico, Utah, & Colorado. I really feel like journals can be finished pieces of art, & I have scanned journal entries, sized them up, & used them as full size images. But my journals have been primarily totable records for myself, little individuals treasure troves that I can go back to years later and see what I was thinking & where I was.

Journals are also places where I can write, draw, paint, and explore without edit. I don't have to worry about who's going to see it (b/c usually I'm the only one), I don't have to worry if the image I've pasted in is perfectly cropped, color corrected, and ready to print. I can freely put down ideas & don't have that little voice in my head that asks "Is this right? Is this too out there?" Although most of the time I try not to worry about the answer to either of those-try being the operative word. One of my favorite sketches is the sketch I drew of my hand. I was sitting out on an old wooden porch attached to an adobe art studio in Magdelena New Mexico. The group was being led through a discussion about how to do Modified Countour Drawing. I was so intent and focused on creating the likeness of my hand that I zoned out the teacher! When I came back to real life the class had moved on and I had this lovely drawing. :)

I happened upon a whole collection of featured sketchbook artists on one of the websites we mentioned in our "Favorites" list: Book By Its Cover http://www.book-by-its-cover.com/category/sketchbooks/. There's a whole archive of artists who've been kind enough to open their journals to all the artsy people of the web. Very inspiring!! I love how each journal is so different yet very alike in their goals. Beautiful beautiful work.

Inspiration Wall

So this weekend I took a crack at creating an "inspiration wall" which I've seen on several blogs. Basically you hang up whatever's inspiring you at the moment. For instance, I've hung up magazine articles, pics, my polaroids, a card, a cool compass printed on the hot sleeve of a Starbucks cup. The list can be endless! They're pretty easy to make: twine (or whatever string is inspiring to you), a few nails, some binder clips, and a level. I've seen other blogs that used bull dog clips, which look really great too. When I was at Staples buying the binder clips, I noticed they have tons of different clips to choose from, or you could customize the binder clips w/ contact paper or anything else you can think of.


I really like how this isn't a concrete/permanent wall hanging. You can change/add/ subtract anything at your own pace. Once I stood back & took a look at the wall I noticed how collaged, organic, and textural it had become. I think the wall really reflects my work and working style. I couldn't have it perfectly aligned or unlayered, as I find things w/ too much neatness sometimes a little intimidating.

I love having all these little inspirations hanging in my workspace! It gets me in the creative mood, and I think it also can give you a starting point to work from if you're "stuck". For me the simplest combinations, like the bright blues and yellows, could inspire my color pallette for the next print design or photo collection. Yay for inspiration!!

And together we are Jenn and Christie!

Our personal history would have to start out as a mere co-worker relationship. We quickly became friends and began sharing our passion for design and creativity. Though Christie comes from a graphic design background and Jenn comes from a photography background, both of our styles balance one another out & share similarities. We started thinking about how we could combine some of our talents & perhaps be a little lucrative in the process. We stumbled upon Etsy (yay!) and began selling our creations. Christie sells her cards and designs at christabelle81.etsy.com, while Jenn sells her photos at jenkra.etsy.com. Although we love (and I do mean love in almost an obsessive manner which most Etsian’s will understand) our new found creative community, we still had so many new ideas racing around our brains that we couldn’t get them all on paper fast enough. Thus “Our Detailed Simplicity” was born. It’s become a center for us to direct all our creative ideas & share them with others who share our common interests.

Whether it’s paper, fabric, paintings, illustrations, or photographs-we’re inspired by them all! We love incorporating our styles. Christie’s clean crisp design ideal combined with Jenn’s experimental technique philosophy fuses to create something brand new which inspires us to create all over again. We’re very excited to start posting new inspirations & start sharing different ideas with the blogging community.

Who is Christie?

Well, that's a good question. It could be answered by many people in many different ways, but thankfully I'll answer it personally.

I know I was coloring pictures, drawing with chalk on the driveway and making beautiful Mother's Day cards before this instance, but this is the first vivid memory I have where the creativity started to take shape. Walk with me. It was first grade, we were making calendars I believe and drawing pictures for each month. It was a summer month and I was drawing something outdoors. I had made a sun with my wonderful bright yellow crayon. Instead of making a circle, coloring it in and making some rays, I continued to make that sun as thick and full of yellow wax as I could. So round and round I went, until my teacher came and said, ok Christie I think you got the sun as bright as it can be. I still remember that moment to this day and to this day, would still get just as excited about a brand new box of crayons.

Just as I didn't stop making my sun as bright as it could be, I kept on through the years being creative and crafty. I had my years of being a tom-boy and thinking crafts were stupid, but in my girls group at church, everyone wanted me to do their craft b/c I did it so much better. I loved art class, the smell of the Mr. Sketch markers, cutting and pasting a collage of that years interests, entering my projects in the Fine Arts Festival. Then in high school I didn't get into art again until my junior year, where I fell in love with it all over again. Took all the classes I could and... enter the computer. We got our first computer in 1996 and from then on, I've been on it. I put art and computers together, doing graphic design in college and here I am.

I've found many new places for inspiration, on and off the computer. I'm trying to find a place for it in my busy life and love to put design into any area I can. I love being able to contribute to people's big days, like wedding invites and baby announcements, to enhance their small businesses with logo and website design and to fill my own home and others with the many ideas I have bursting out of my head (and my favorites list). I hope the drive of design continues as my family grows and becomes more busy, so this should be a place to find those little treasures we find or those places of inspiration. We (Jenn and I) hope you enjoy diving into our little design world!

-Christie

Favorite Blogs & Websites

Here's a list of all our favorite blogs & websites!!

Jenn's Personal Bio

The first time I remember being aware of photography was when I got a Fischer Price camera for my seventh birthday. It was a small bright blue plastic rectangle, with soft black plastic caps on each end (in case of an unfortunate meeting with the cement) and a bright yellow cord, just long enough to carry the camera neatly around my neck. The first image I ever made was through my neighbors’ living room screen. I was just tall enough to see my friends through the screen, and I yelled with excitement “Look at my new camera!!” I was so excited I couldn’t even wait for them to come outside. So they came to the window and I made my first image-the two neighbor girls, their upturned noses pressed against the screen, framed by the white peeling painted window frame. I haven’t stopped making images since.

Although I’ve been told I’m pretty good at “pure” photography, my passion has always been experimental in nature. As I grew to appreciate the rules of photography, I also grew to appreciate breaking them. I love breaking traditional techniques down, and seeing how far I can take any new technique I stumble upon. I’ve experimented with chemistry in the dark room, altered the surface of the photographic paper, mixed media’s, and manipulated my images through camera shake and long exposures, for as long as I can remember. So the majority of my photographic work reflects my experimental tendencies, but also strives to project a larger concept other than simple experimentation.