come get your craft on

unless we get some support, paper nerds may die a slow death like so many other things in this economy. i have no doubt it would eventually rise from the dead, but the current lag is so disheartening. the last workshop was canceled due to lack of interest/bad scheduling/whatever. we only have one person signed up for the next super rad workshop on the 15th of this month, which is gocco printing- and classes with only one or two people signed up get canceled too. we realize money is tight, but we try to offer classes at a really fair price...and in this age of DIY, our classes are a perfect way to come away with lots of gifts for very little money. so come on folks, please think about attending, or spread the word to your friends. isn't supporting local craft and community worth giving up this month's mani pedi? come attend a workshop soon. we promise you'll have a blast. if you can't attend or aren't interested, write and tell us why- we are always open to suggestions. and thanks:)

new visuals

below are details of objects i wrote estimates for today. obviously, we get a huge variety of things through here. my favorite of this batch is the historical document (not a big surprise if you know me), which is very fragile and covered with brittle silk. it used to be a common treatment to adhere silk to both sides of documents with paste to stabilize them. i think this one was also dipped in wax before it was silked as well, so the reversal should be interesting. notice the signature.

love your guts

a couple of weeks ago, my car blew a head gasket. ouchie. but i love my car, and we didn't really have the option to do anything but fix her, with the help of some very nice friends...ironically, friends that are also named david, and their glorious wives of course. one david and his wife let us borrow their second car so we wouldn't have to rent one while we are fixing suzie (the very unoriginal name of my car, being an isuzu). another brilliant david volunteered to do the work.

so i ordered the parts and we started work this past saturday. it's slow going and she's a bitch of a car...so many things had to come out in order to get the head out of there - so many things that now i know the name of! the pics below are suzie's parts just a couple of hours into the job...currently she looks far more gutted than this. we're waiting on the rain to go away before we can continue work, since the car is stuck in our driveway. fingers crossed she's done in a few more days, and runs a couple more years. and cheers to exceptional friends!

baking on a whim

i'm not really much of a baker. i'm trying to learn, but a cook is not always a baker. yesterday i noticed i had everything i needed to make homemade apple pie, so i made one. it's getting to be "autumn" now here in texas, and the weather sort of called for the smell of apple pie in the house. we bought some vanilla ice cream to go with it (an obvious must), and cut open the pie last night while it was still warm. yum. yes, i've tried cheese on my apple pie, and i've tried chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla at someone's suggestion. but warm apple pie with vanilla ice cream is the best. and crust made with shortening:)

pig races

state fair 2009

paper lanterns

paper nerds is having a paper lanterns workshop on sunday october 25 at 1 PM. the lanterns below will be made, along with some other shapes and types of paper lanterns, with and without twinkle lights. just in time for fall parties! sign up today, only $40.

observer best of issue

paper nerds got a mention in the dallas observer, week before last. hooray! hopefully it makes for a busy holiday season for us. i know, we seriously need to update the blog. we've just planned our schedule for next year, and have some great upcoming workshops this fall, so check back with us soon. and look for new pictures this week.

favorites of the weekend

cottonwood park

saturday we stopped by the cottonwood art festival at cottonwood park. it's a pretty park, which is mostly why i like to go. and because they have kettle corn for sale during the festival, and because there are some yard sculptures that are kind of steam-punk-like. it always seems to draw a crowd no matter what the weather, and it's free, so we go look around for a bit. most of the stuff isn't our style, but there are a handful of artists that draw me in for a few minutes, and i can appreciate the craft(s) anyway. there is one man there who makes the most beautiful rocking chairs. i wish i could buy one.