Jen Bowles Design

Crafting Like A Pirate

I am spending this week as the Arts & Crafts mom at our local Y camp.  They have a work exchange program that I'm participating in.  For one week of Arts & Crafts "momming" you receive 3 weeks of camp free of charge.  It just so happens that I have 3 children.  So, we are all going to camp this week.  Right now I'm in the midst of prepping projects for tomorrow.  Sure, the organized people prep their projects weeks or at least days ahead.  Then there's the last minute Lindas like myself...
Anyway, to start the week today we made: Pirate Medallions.
Here's Will, showing off his:        

Most of the kids seemed to enjoy making them and I spotted many campers still wearing their medallions at the end of the day during pick up : - )

To make your own medallion, here are a few steps/pointers:

• we used mayonnaise jar lids.  I got 100 of these at the EXCL center but they're easy to collect at home when you just need a few.  I used my handy-dandy Crop-A-Dile to punch holes in the edge of the lid ahead of time
• the kids picked a color of gimp (you could use cord too) and threaded it through. Then they added beads on either side.
• after they finished beading, we tied up the gimp so the beads wouldn't accidentally slide off (ahem...)
• the younger children just picked out a self adhesive foam shape (from Oriental Trading) and stuck in on the center
• the older kids had the option of tracing & gluing a piece of paper to go over the mayo lid and then added a paper die cut shape they colored and/or a foam shape.

These medallions would be easily adaptable to almost any theme and would make an easy & fun party activity.  Enjoy!

(Makes Me) Happy Independence Day Weekend!

Note to Self

As evidenced by the 'Write On' above the kitchen chalkboard and the Wall of 'Woof' hallway, I'm loving putting words on the walls in our home.  Which of course goes hand in hand with my  love of collecting/acquiring different types and styles of letters, it's a fun thing to be on the lookout for at flea markets and antique shops.  Some of my other favorite sources for letters include craft stores and Paper Source.
The next room on my wall words hit list: my office/the mudroom.
In our last home, my studio was a regular room (i.e. not in the basement) and I was able to decorate it like a regular room (and I had to keep it clean like a regular room--in theory anyway).  For that room, I chose the Paper Source tagline to put on my wall.
And while I still love that sentiment (and have it on a rubber stamp), I chose something new for my office in our current home.
I used the same combination of rubber stamps and dimensional letters, but mixed things up a bit this time.  This new reminder {your Life is your Art} hangs over my desk and greets me each time I walk into the house (click on pic to enlarge).  I'm loving all the colors and different letters.
 Every time I look up there, I smile. 

{Letter sources for Life: L is fabric from a Laugh banner that was in the Target $1 spot a few years ago, I is a flea market find movie marquee letter I painted and added the wooden heart, f is from Paper  Source and the E is from Michaels}

{Art letter sources:  A is from the Christmas Tree Shop, R is from the Pottery Barn (Kids) outlet and the t is from Paper Source, re-used from my old studio}
    

Scenes from Home

A few happy little snaps from around our house and garden over the past couple of weeks...
{my fab chenille house pillow from the arts festival}

{roses in the front yard}   

{homemade chocolate cake}

Mmmm, home.

(Makes Me) Happy Chalkboard Party!

Gina at the Shabby Chic Cottage is hostessing a Crazy About Chalkboards party.  I've never been to a blog party, but I always enjoy clicking through the links when I come across them.  So, I finished a project, took some pictures, gathered my courage and emailed my information to Gina.  
 
Welcome!  I'm Jen and I am indeed, Crazy About Chalkboards!

Let's have a peek...
Our first chalkboard was 2 houses ago, in our basement playroom.  It was my first time using chalkboard paint and I painted right on the ugly faux wood grain paneling.  The hubby took care of the trim work--that may have been the last time he mitre cut 4 pieces of wood to fit together.  The painted wooden disks served 2 purposes:  to disguise defects in the wall and tie in with the theme of the room.  The plastic basket screwed to the bottom frame worked well for holding chalk and an erasing cloth.

At our last house Ebby was far more interested in whiteboards than chalkboards.  It was a dark time, with no chalkboard anywhere in sight.

That all changed when we moved into our current home last year.  So far I've used chalkboard paint in 4 different places, and there's still plenty left in the 1 qt. can ; - )

Fortunately, while Ebby still loves her whiteboard, she has once again learned to love the chalkboard.  In fact, she has one in her room.  Yep, I painted nearly this entire awkward entry wall with chalkboard paint.  I thought myself so clever adding the ribbon and ball fringe along the top.  I felt it need a border and I glued it right to the wall with tacky glue.  It's holding up just fine a year later.  I love the tin wall pocket as well, works great for holding chalk and an eraser.

I didn't take pictures (because our basement is not at all ready for its close-up) but I used chalkboard paint on 2 projects down there.  I painted a small magnetic/bulletin board from IKEA with chalkboard paint.  I have it in my studio space and use it for displaying favorite magnets and writes notes to myself.  I also have a door down there that I bought at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $5.  I use it as a noteboard and an inspiration board.  I painted it with the chalkboard paint and now leave messages for my cherubs' friends that come to hang out in our dungeon basement.  Very welcoming.

Finally, my pride and joy.
Our kitchen chalkboard. 
This project took for-ever.  When I painted the kitchen last August I taped off the space and also painted in the chalkboard.  And that's how it sat for 8 months, waiting to be framed out.  Note how the wall used to be white and the masking tape created a faux frame effect ; )
We used it, of course.  It just wasn't as pretty as it could be.  Bit by bit, I gathered the trim.  Most of it I found in the garage, scraps from another project where we had taken down some trim around a doorway.  Love to be able to re-use stuff (!).  I had to buy one piece of baseboard molding and one piece of cove molding (for the chalkboard ledge), but that was it.  A couple of months ago I finally painted all the molding and with the help of the hubby, installed the chalkboard frame.
And it looked so much better.  Yet my vision was not complete.  I wanted to put some words on the wall above the chalkboard.  Deciding what those words would be sparked a great debate here in Bowlesville.  Among the contenders:  to do, notes & chalk it up.  The hubby (or BGD as we like to call him) was quite enamored of 'Thingz + Stuff'.  See photos. 
I did not share the love.  Instead I favored 'Write On'.  I scavenged through my collection of letters (I have a great love for letters and several projects in the works...) and found most of what I needed.  The rest I purchased over the past several weeks.  Overall the letters are from several different sources including Hobby Lobby (oh how I miss you!!), Michaels, AC Moore, Paper Source, Pottery Barn outlet (oh how I miss you too!) and the flea market (old movie marquee letters).  I decided on colors.  I painted.  I distressed.  Finally, I hung. The letters.  More like rested on the top ledge and secured with Fun-Tac, but whatever.
I've loved our kitchen chalkboard from the very start, now that it's finally finished, I love it even more.
Now, if only it were bigger...

Thanks to Gina for hostessing the Crazy about Chalkboards party and for providing me with a much needed deadline.  Now do go and soak up the inspiration all over blogland at the Crazy About Chalkboards party!

Thanks for stopping by, come by anytime you like : )

Arts Festival #2

This past Saturday we attended our 2nd arts festival of the season.  This time we ventured to picturesque Cohasset, MA for the South Shore Arts Center Festival.  There was a nice break in the weather, and the sun was even shining during our stroll thru the art, food and vendors.
We parked and took the shuttle trolley from the parking lot at the South Shore Music Circus (where BGD/hubby first paid a visit to the box office and purchased Tony Bennett tickets, purportedly for our mothers as birthday gifts but really, for him too).  As soon as we walked into the vendor area, we saw Bubbe.  It ended up that the boys went in one direction (the food tents) and the girls went in another direction (the art tent).  Typical.
One of my mom's good friends (Pamela Copeman) had work in the juried show.  It's a mixed media piece with the dress painted in acrylics over layered sewing patterns.  I've been hearing about it for a while, it was neat to see it in person.  A few on my other favorites are pictured here as well, the first by Brooks Kelly
and the other by Sally Dean
Love the colors in all of these works!
While browsing the vendors, we happened upon Amy from Bumble Belly Designs and Brooke of Bancroft Studio.  My mom and I met them both at Mimi Kirchner's Tiny Worlds class back in February.  It was nice to see them again, say hello and browse their fun & beautiful wares.
Of course it seems I spent all my $ (from from BGD's trip to the ATM) at one booth.  Every time we visit this festival, we buy something from Patricia Kelly of Serendipity.  She makes the most delightful 'soft sculptures' using fabrics, notably chenille (my fave), fleece, and designer cotton quilting fabric.  Cuyler was so cute, Patricia's booth was a bit cleaned out by the time we got there but he spotted a plastic tote full of small softies in the back.  He asked if he could look in it and had a great time searching for a special friend.  At the bottom of the bin he found 'Snow Brownie the Moose who likes Brownies' (Cuyler's name).   My mom twisted my arm and convinced me to get a fun house pillow (picture coming soon).  Then Ebby went back and fell in love with Ellie the elephant--who also came home with us.  I must admit, it feels good to support local artists and do our part to stimulate the economy ; )
Plus, the house pillow looks great in our family room!

'Yummy' Cape Cod

I determined a few weeks ago that there were 2 things I wanted to do before the kids got out of school.  One was to go into Boston one day, meet my husband for lunch, spend the rest of my Anthropologie gift card and browse at Paper Source.  The second was to take an inspiration/shopping trip to the Cape.  Here it is the last day of school and I did make it to Boston and Cape Cod.  Of course the Boston trip was just to pick up my husband and drive him to the emergency room at the local hospital (he's fine).  No strolling in the Back Bay with that trip.
Luckily, I was able to visit the Cape last Tuesday.  I invited my mom along and we made the most of my 7.5 hours of freedom.
{photo:  window along Main Street, downtown Hyannis}
First stop:  downtown Hyannis.  Our target:  Colorful Creations.  Somehow the last time I was in this "papercrafter's paradise" (last summer??) I didn't buy anything.  Shocking, even to me.  That was not the case on Tuesday.  In fact I made a historic purchase: my first 2 Copic markers. I used my Yellow Green and Robin's Egg blue markers this weekend and I love them.  Great markers and they make an excellent stocking stuffer, right Mom ; )  I chatted with Jenn, the store manager, about iPhones and several of the project samples and a bunch of the fun classes and clubs they have at Colorful Creations.  Decided that an hour is definitely not too far to go to visit an art store and made a mental note to return soon. 
{photo:  exclusive line of Cape Cod themed rubber stamps at Colorful Creations}

By the time we left CC, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful afternoon, if a bit cool.  We hopped in the car and headed up the road to Heartbeat Quilts.  Their magical bin of rolled fabric 'logs' is addictive to dig thru.  I picked out several and then handed them to my mom so she could pay for them.  What can I say, it was only a few dollars and I didn't have any cash.  Thanks Mom ; )
{photo:  a beautiful pink peony outside Heartbeat Quilts}
No sooner had I set the GPS for our next destination, when we spotted a thrift shop and made a quick (and worthwhile) detour.  We picked up a few small treasure including a {free} brass butterfly that I already spray painted blue and stuck in my garden.
Back on the road, we headed to West Barnstable--home of Melissa of Yummy Goods! Among Melissa's many talents are:  artist,  textile designer, shop owner, and Cloth Paper Scissors Studio magazine cover {studio} girl.  I've been reading Melissa's blog for a while as well as following her on twitter and truth be told,  my main reason for going to the Cape was to visit Yummy Goods : )  My mom and I had a great time meeting Melissa and browsing around her shop and studio space.  She is so welcoming, engaging and informative, if we had more time I'm sure we would have hung out there all day (have you seen the picture of the couch with the thrifted afghan?  Very comfy!). Once I dragged myself out of Melissa's studio, I picked out some fun gifts {for myself} in the shop.  My favorite purchase is my Mandarin Sake soy votive candle.  I haven't even lit it yet but the fragrance as it sits on my desk is near intoxicating.  It's normal to repeatedly pick up a candle and sniff it, right??
Thanks so much to Melissa for her hospitality, we can't wait to go back and visit you & Yummy Goods again! 
{And if you find yourself on Cape Cod this summer, definitely stop by, she's there everyday for the summer season!}

At this point, we had some rumbly tummies so we headed to Subway where lunch was healthy and courtesy of Mom once again (thanks again Mum!).  Once fueled up, we headed to our final stop of the day, Tumbleweed Quilts.  Tumbleweed is a wonderful fabric shop, & only about 5 minutes away from Yummy Goods.  In fact, Tumbleweed carries the entire Sugar Snap fabric line (Melissa's fabric), lots of cotton eye candy here.  I also spent some time "fishing" in the fabric pool here as well.

All in all, a wonderful day to visit some fun shops and inspiring people.  Can't wait to go back--and hit the beach!

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

It's going to be short and sweet today.
It's the last Friday of the school year and it seems there's a lot to get done!
With that, this is what's making me happy this Friday in June...

• The lone, delicious and wonderfully ripe, strawberry from my garden.  Yum.
• Spending time walking the beach and collecting rocks, shells and sea glass.  I love being so close to the ocean, just the sound of the crashing waves is soothing to me.  {We don't have waterfront property by any stretch, but we're about 2 miles away from the Atlantic and if the weather and the winds are just right, I can smell the salty air from my front yard.}
• Cuyler has been spending time down in my studio, all on his own, creating.  I love seeing what he's made.  Yesterday he emerged with this adorable paper puppy.  So cute.

Short and sweet, as promised : )
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Art Journal Pages

It's been a while since I've posted (or worked in...) my art journal.
I guess #13 Art Journal 1 page per week from my 209 Things to do in 209 isn't going so well.
But that's ok. Plenty of room for improvement ; )
This first page was heavily inspired by Pam Garrison's artwork on the cover (and inside) of the premiere issue of Stampington's Art Journaling publication.  Pam has been featuring a ton of her amazing pages from her latest art journal on her blog.  Definitely go and take a peek!
Back to my page.  I used a black Pitt pen, oil pastels, colored pencils and 2 different kinds of paint--turquoise Lumiere metallic acrylic and pernod yellow Setacolor transparent fabric paint.  The paints were fun to work with and the fabric paint was on clearance at Michaels when I got it (bonus!).  My inspiration was really Pam's artwork, and I do love drawing birds.  Other than that, just playing with my art supplies on a rainy Saturday morning.

The second shot is 2 separate pages, scanned together.  Both of these pages were inspired by the words/ideas written on the pages.  From there I just doodled, playing with patterns, colors and supplies.  I used the same supplies for these pages as  the bird page. I like the 'Consume Less, Culitivate More' page a bit better, not so crazy about the purple on the 'Life' page.  But that's ok, it's an art journal and it's just for fun.
I like fun.
Especially where creating is concerned.

 

Finally, flowers (& whales)

It's the middle of June but it's been feeling like early May around here lately.  Maybe that's why it doesn't seem so odd that it took me until last week to finally plant some flowers in the urn on our little porch.  Actually I blame it on the dust from the patio installation...
Here it is, oh-so-pretty in pink.  I splurged and bought 3 Proven Winners: Diamond Frost euphorbia, Superwave petunia, and Goldilocks.  I love how the Goldilocks trails down the front of the urn.  I also popped in some pretty pink and green caladium, just for fun.
I love my copper pig watering can, I use it all the time.  It was a gift from my friend Sue, but I believe it's still available at Smith & Hawken.  The metal butterfly is a garden ornament from JoAnn's that I've had for at least 5 years.
So I was loving my little planted corner.
Then I went to a few yard sales on Saturday morning...
These wooden whales were too cute to leave behind (plus they were 50 cents for both!).  I was thinking I'd paint over them or maybe even mosaic, but now that I put them by the planter, I think they'll be staying right where they are.  And who can't use an old lobster trap buoy?  I certainly can, very authentic : )