we did it!

It was a perfect day, which can best be summed up as "magic."  Whenever anyone asks, that's how I describe it. We were surrounded by love and happiness - and lots of crafts! It was a handmade wedding, and I'm happy to share the details. More, soon. 

We're inviting a small group of friends & family to the wedding. But we can still share this Save the Date, far and wide. We took this photo on our recent trip to Vermont. We affectionately refer to this as our Welcome Back Kotter / Ben and Jerry's font. Full of woodsy happiness!

Drawing

Though I'm not sure I've mentioned it here before, by day I'm a volunteer coordinator. This past month, I celebrated National Volunteer Week by organizing a series of behind-the-scenes talks and tours for our volunteers. These secret tours are so much fun! After all, we're not ducking into conference rooms, but rather, conservation studios and wood shops!  This year we even got stuck in the freight elevator together (it made for a fun afternoon).

I love spending a little extra time with our volunteers, but more than anything, I love the opportunity to shed light on my talented colleagues, and the amazing work they do. It's also a chance for me to introduce a little creativity into my job. Though I have an artist's heart, most of my day is spent word-processing in a grey cubicle ... did I mention it's in the basement? Oh, the splendour! Never mind. Each year, I hand illustrate thank you cards for our speakers. And because our photocopier is old, old, old (and chews up card stock) I make them all individually. And as we don't have a colour printer, I hand paint each one, too.

wedding planning

Design cues!

Brittany Watson Jepsen, via Etsy Blogs

Martha Stewart

Simply Natural Event Planning (though I'm pretty sure this is not the original source - darn internets)

Craft and the New Economy - Best Parts

Still playing catch up, back in March I attended Craft and the New Economy, a symposium organized by the Ontario Crafts Council, Ontario College of Art and Design University, Sheridan College Crafts and Design Program, & the Haliburton School of the Arts. All heavy hitters!

My two favourite speakers: Marie O’Mahony (OCAD U, visiting professor) and Dr. Sandra Alfondy (Professor of Craft History at NSCAD University and Associate Curator of Fine Craft at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia) - my old stomping grounds!

Marie O’Mahony gave the keynote address, emphasizing the importance of good relations between craft and industry. She posited three questions: 1) Have craft and industry linked? (and if so, what is the nature of the link?); 2) Can craft rescue manufacturing from low-cost, mass-produced goods?, and, 3) Is technology becoming increasingly necessary to prevent the demise of craft. Taking a controversial line of argument, and sometimes contradicting herself, Marie had me hooked. This snippet from the Sundance feature Hearts and Crafts, profiling the artisans employed at Hermes, had me happily daydreaming.

Sandra Alfondy, a panelist, is a kindred spirit, pure and simple. Her talk paid tribute to crafters from a feminist perspective, and sent a clear message about the importance of valuing our work, so others would too. That’s the kind of discussion I hoped the conference would inspire, but it seemed a fringe point.

Overall, the symposium tried to position a new role for craft in the 21st century. This seemed more focused toward outsourcing and product-design, which left me a bit disappointed, and a bit sad. I can’t help but think that craft’s root in handmade, homesteading, self-sufficiency, and DIY is what will carry it forward.

Golly Forever!

Hello friends!

The world’s topsy-turvy at present. I have lots of good news to share! Best expressed with photo.

My sweetheart surprised me with an engagement ring, the night before my birthday, back in February. We snapped this photo just after the big moment. That’s us, underneath a viaduct at York Mills Station (a suburban area of Toronto). Not the most glamorous of locales, but surely the most romantic. It was just us, a couple of curious raccoons, and the graffiti. Urban romance! It was perfect. Check out that sparkle!

The next morning (my birthday), I awoke to diamond earrings to match.

I’m on top of the moon! The best part of being engaged is sharing the news. I just love hearing “it was only a matter of time, you two are adorable!” It makes me happy to think that love, quite literally, shines through.

We’re planning a summertime wedding in my parents’ beautiful backyard, followed by a reception at a fancy restaurant, with a lakeside view. As you can probably guess, I’m most excited about décor! We’re planning a paper theme, with lots of greenery; is that cryptic enough? I’ll share my progress as the day draws closer. Until then, it’s back to doodling ideas. – Holly xo

Working on ...

I snapped this photo last week in Grange Park; right in the heart of the city (would you believe it?) Next up: translating pine cone, with spruce tips, in wool felt. That's my kind of challenge. More, soon!

Year in Review

Is it me, or do all crafters post their year in review mid-January? Darn those handmade holidays!

I'm thankful this year for all of the crafty inspiration from friends near and far. Oh internets, what would we do without you? Here, some of my favourite projects of the year.

Welcome, 2012! I'm hunkering down with new projects and craft room bliss (once the floor is laid, and the shelves are hung). I can't wait for spaces and places for fabric scraps and sketches, wool felt pine cones and vegetable-dyed fabric fungi. There are boutonnieres on the way, and terrariums, too; shadow boxes and wall plaques. In sum, my forest fantasies are taking over.

Fabric Family

Far and away, the hit of holidays were these photo family dolls I made for my nieces. That's my sister Louise, her husband Rick, and Audrey and Violet in softie form. Audrey, three-and-a-half, was a little freaked when she opened these, but they were a hit with the grown-ups, and over time, the wee ones took to cuddling their plushy parents.



Want some? You can make them, too. I based my fabric family on a pattern found in super blogger Amy Karol's "Bend the Rules with Fabric". The toughest part of this project was tracking down an inkjet printer to print the photo faces on fabric paper (purchased from the office supply store). Turns out, ink jet printers are hard to come by. They can't be found in copy centres anymore. If you're lucky (like me) your dad has one in the basement.

Hollydays recap

Handmade presents are always my favourites. So I was happy this year to have a little time to fill my friend's stockings with gifts made with heart and hand:



First up, a (super-luxe) merino and cashmere monkey (lucky Linden!), all soft parts and cuddly. Next: Golly Manor biscotti, anise-almond and orange chocolate.

Not pictured here, two "true-to-life" wool pine cone pins, made for pair of sisters, who (I'm told) wore them to school one day, and before bed, asked if they could sport them again in the morning. There's no higher praise than that!