Jen Bowles Design

Beach Rocks

It's hard to believe that it's April 29th and we've already been to the beach 3 times.
I'm certainly not complaining.
During yesterday's trip, I started my 2009 white rock collection.
Of course I don't limit myself to just white or just rocks.

May Basket Swap

I recently completed my second swap of the year, participating in the May Basket swap hosted by Artsy Mama on her Year of Color blog.
My partner was the lovely Julie from Jane's Apron.  I'll be sharing the wonderful May basket I received from Julie in a later post.  For today, I thought I'd post pictures of the basket that I sent to Julie (she received it yesterday).
Julie has a fondness for things vintage and thrifted.  Her creative re-invention of vintage sewing patterns and ephemera is simply delightful.
I drew my inspiration for my May basket from 3 main sources: Julie, my own May basket memories and the fact that I've been wanting to make some layered button & tin flowers.
The actual May basket I sent was a thread cone (very heavy chipboard, bought a bunch on eBay a while ago) covered in ruffled crepe paper.  I added the ribbon handle and then filled up the cone with handcrafted flowers. 
I also included a bunch of other goodies that, because of my basket choice, were packaged on their own separately.  I tried to keep within the vintage/flowers/bird springtime theme. My favorite non-handcrafted item I included was the bird fruit peeler from the Asian market.  You use the beak to start peeling rind fruit like oranges.  Very clever and cute~and it works. 

Naturally, I couldn't resist buying one for myself.
I had a lot of fun putting this May basket together, hopefully Julie will enjoy it just as much.  : )

{check out more May basket swap goodness on flickr}

 

Artist to Admire: Maira Kalman

Today's must read:  Maira Kalman's And the Pursuit of Happiness blog in the New York Times.
Captivating illustrations.
Beautiful handwriting.
Inspiring stories.

{illustration from the NYTimes website}

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  Seems like our school vacation week is flying by--which isn't much different than any other week lately.  Let's get to it, what's making me happy this sunny Friday...

• The weather!  Yep, they're calling it 'Summer in April' on the local news.  The forecast is for sun and 70 degrees today, and warming up to the 80s this weekend.  We're celebrating by heading to the beach today.  The water temperature is still in the 40s, but we're planning on bringing the dogs so there should be plenty of frolicking.
• My insurance company.  Last Friday, I was involved in a minor fender bender while I was out and about hanging up flyers for my summer art classes.  I was stopped and he was backing out of a parking space so the speed was very slow and no one was hurt--just my passenger side door.  I went to the drive-in claims center on Saturday morning.  I was in and out in about 6 minutes.  On Monday I got a quick call from the adjuster and by Wednesday my check was here--including my deductible because 100% of the liability is on the other guy.  Of course now I just need to find time to be without my car for a day or two to get it fixed.  Next week.
• Polyvore.com
  

Perhaps my head has been in the proverbial internet sand, but I had no idea about this too fun site where you can create your own customized mood/style boards.  I've only made one so far, but I can see where a person might spend an inordinate amount of time there : )  Thanks to Catherine at New England Noir for the link!
My First Set by JenBowlesDesign featuring Old Navy flip flops

• This slideshow from the NYTimes featuring the real Grey Gardens on Long Island.  After reading several mentions of the Drew Barrymore version on HBO on Twitter, I decided to watch.  It was oddly captivating and definitely sparked my interest in the actual property.  The current owners (Sally Quinn and Benjamin Bradlee) bought Grey Gardens in 1979 and have restored the entire property.  The gardens are beautiful and enchanting and the before and after pictures are incredible.                                                                                                     {photo  is from the New York Times}

That's it for this week. Now we must all get out there and enjoy our weekend!!

Celebrating Earth Day

Right now, our patch of Earth is looking quite lovely.  The early morning sun is bathing the backyard in a warm glow.  The grass is green and glistening from last night's rain.  Squirrels are scurrying, birds are swooping, daffodils and vinca are blooming and the trees are budding.
And all my children and the dogs are sleeping so it's quite quiet and peaceful.
Today I'm hoping to try out another project from my Summer Art Series with Ebby and her pal.  We're going to be making Yes You Can Mermaids.  I'm not quite done with my prototype, but it's very cute if I do say so myself...which I just did ; .  As with all the of the projects I'm hoping to do with the children this summer, it's a very eco-friendly project.  Almost all of the materials have been saved from our recycling bin or were picked up by me at the ExCL center.  Seems like a good way to celebrate Earth Day.
Speaking of ExCL, my recycled birdhouse is now complete.  They are closed this week due to school vacation, but I'm planning on dropping it off next week while I pick up my next batch of supplies.
As promised, a few more details about the birdhouse:

• the birdhouse itself is a recycled cube tissue box covered in fabric samples from a showroom at the Boston Design Center via ExCL.
• the roof is made up of 2 chipboard pieces from ExCL (donated by a greeting card company, I think)
• the post is a shipping tube covered in pages torn from a 1970s report on the British economy
• the base is shipping material that I carved into a leaf shape, dug a hole in and covered in another fabric sample and then painted green.
• The bird is die cut from a plastic divider card
• the perch is a piece of a flat binding clip

All of the materials, with the exception of the tissue cube which I took out of our recycling bin, are from ExCL.  I loved the challenge of working with only recycled or reused materials, it's a great kickstart to creativity.  With the exception of the dryer lint bird that never properly took shape, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  Hopefully someone will bid on it at the fundraising auction at ExCL : )
Happy Earth Day!

{if you like, check out even more photos of the birdhouse on my flickr photostream}

Sweet Monday

{courtesy of the Whole Foods bakery~well, not really a "courtesy",    I paid $1.99 for it}
Happy Patriots/Boston Marathon Day!
Of course if you don't live in Massachusetts and aren't interested in long distance running, it could be just another Monday morning for you.
No matter, enjoy the sweetness either way.
Oh, yes that's a puppy paw in the picture and no, she was not successful in swiping my strawberry-filled, kind-of-dry cupcake ; )

A few Flickr favorites

It's been a while since I've shown my flickr love...

1. for madeline, 2. Untitled, 3. Art Journal page Free as a Bird, 4. Nest Banner, 5. The Cup and Her Queen, 6. stitching onto paper, 7. rosita the mermaid, 8. Paper Mache Bunny Still Life, 9. Woodland Faerie, 10. The Shipwreck, 11. Bird and Mushroom Terrarium, detail, 12. The Hungry Caterpillar Cupcakes Cake!, 13. Weekend Project, 14. art journal...... green, 15. Spring Sugar Cookie Ornaments, 16. Fresh Picked Bookmark

(Makes Me) Happy Friday

File this under: Better Late Than Never.  Again ; )

It's Friday and my little darlings are officially on vacation until Monday April 27.
Which of course makes me happy...
The amount of tears that have already been shed by the boys?  Not so happy making.
I'm sure they'll get over it.  They always do.
The fact that a man in a Saab SUV didn't see me (I was completely stopped in my minivan--which is actually pretty big) when he backed out of his parking space and thus backed into my passenger-side door meaning that I have to get up early tomorrow morning and head to the insurance company "drive-in claim center"?  Also, not so happy making.
I'm fine and the damage appears to just be cosmetic so that does make me happy.
What else is making me happy this beautiful, warm, and sunny Friday?

• My library books. I love children's picture books.  Melissa Sweet is one of my favorite illustrators.  I love her combination of pencil, watercolors and collage. I now have 5 of her books checked out.  Bliss!  I also have 10 other books, all with beautiful pictures for me to enjoy and draw inspiration from. 
• Creature Comforts .  I recently re-discovered this blog and have a renewed excitement for the beautiful pictures, excellent links and tutorials and the overall "eye candy" factor.  A must-read!
• Season 2 of True Blood starts  June 14th on HBO.  My husband totally got me hooked on this show when it aired last fall.  Really, it didn't take much : )

Wishing you a happy weekend!

WIP: Recycled Birdhouse

About a month ago, I joined the EXCL center in Boston.  EXCL is "an amazing upcycling center in the basement of the Boston Latin Academy".  I never would've known about EXCL (Extras for Creative Learning), much less be able to find my way there, without the help of my good friend Sue who works for the Boston Public Schools.  When she first told me about EXCL my eyes nearly popped out of my head.  Free art stuff??  Helping the environment?? Yes, please!
From their website: E.x.C.L. is a shoppers paradise – well that, and a clearinghouse that recovers tons of material from being burned or thrown away and redistributes it for creative educational use. You won’t believe all the amazing supplies and products we have available every time you visit. This isn’t junk, it’s terrific materials of all sorts.
Yep, I certainly was in paradise when we went.  My first visit was definitely a learning experience.  A bit overwhelming with all the materials and possibilities, especially when you aren't sure what you're going to do with all your treasure.  However, I was provided with some direction as soon as I signed up to join.
Currently, EXCL has a fundraising effort underway.  The deal is this:  members get a whole bunch of materials from the center, go home and create a birdhouse out of said materials (functional or decorative), bring your birdhouse back by 5/1 and then stop by and view and bid on a birdhouse for the fundraiser between 5/5-5/9.  Oh, and you get a free visit if you donate a birdhouse.
Whereas the clock is ticking, yesterday I got started on my Oiseaux Chateau.  I'll go in to more detail when I'm done with it, but here are a few pictures in progress...

Very fun and pretty close to what I pictured.

In the meantime, if you're in the Boston area, check out ExCL.  You can join and become a member or if by some chance you already have too many supplies, you can make a donation : )

I'm excited for my next trip to the center.  I am teaching a series of art workshops for children this summer (well, if enough kids sign up I am...) and my overall mantra is "re-use, re-cycle, re-create".  I am recruiting my own children and a few of their friends to make some sample projects next week during vacation.  I am also doing a week long stint as the Arts & Crafts mom at our local Y camp during Pirate week in early July.

Yep, I'm going to be a woman on a mission on my next trip to ExCL.  On a mission and armed with several re-usable, oversized tote bags!

Savannah Snippets: Architecture

Did you think I was all done posting about my Savannah trip?
Fooled ya!
Savannah has such a wonderful Old South feel.  So many of the buildings and houses and shops have been there for a while.  And by a while I mean maybe 50 years or maybe 250 years.  Such a contrast to where we lived in Charlotte, NC.  If buildings are more than 20 years old, down they come.  Or so it seems.
Not so in Savannah.
Here are a few of my favorite shots that I captured.
I'm partial to decorative iron work, fancy windows and general architectural interestingness...

Exterior of the SCAD owned and operated Gryphon Tea Room.

Bright green staircase is at the SCAD Admissions building.

A cat's eye window and a cat carved out of a garden gate.

A sky blue porch roof.

Cotton exchanges that now house shops along the Savannah River.

And more iron work.

Oh Savannah, you are so...architecturally inspiring.