the clever whatever

come get your craft on

2009-11-03T17:21:00.002-06:00

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

2009-11-02T16:07:00.008-06:00

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 my favorite of this batch is the historical document (not a big surprise if you know me), which is very fragile and covered with brittle silk.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

2009-10-26T14:30:00.006-05:00

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

2009-10-23T16:36:00.007-05:00

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

2009-10-09T16:58:00.002-05:00

state fair 2009

2009-10-09T16:46:00.011-05:00

paper lanterns

2009-10-07T13:12:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-04T17:48:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-04T17:36:00.005-05:00

cottonwood park

2009-10-04T17:16:00.006-05:00

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.

studio sweep pile

2009-09-29T15:21:00.003-05:00

a tiny surprise came up in my sweep pile this afternoon. i've no idea where it came from. can you see him?

a new perspective

2009-09-28T13:50:00.007-05:00

it's always nice to get a new look at the city you live in. especially when you are tired of the heat, the extreme lack of nature when compared to your last residence, and the general scene. on saturday we went to visit the corinthian sailing club at white rock lake (usually our favorite place for walking the dogs) for their open house and wooden boat show. free hot dogs and free sailboat rides, a nice break from the norm around here. i know nothing about sailing, but really wish i had a reason (or the means) to be out on a sailboat most weekends.

murals from recent drives/strolls

2009-09-21T10:38:00.007-05:00

i'd love to make a photo album of murals around the metroplex. they are so neat. and often weird. the ones below are from deep ellum and south arlington. there are some great new murals in deep ellum i don't have pictures of yet. read about the deep ellum mural project (and see videos) here.

fuzzy face mustaches

2009-09-09T11:25:00.006-05:00

this was inside the door of a goodwill we drove by in south arlington. it immediately brought lots of jokes to the conversation on what was an otherwise very sad morning. the machine next to it was filled with glow in the dark tattoos.

around the studio this morning

2009-08-25T12:03:00.006-05:00

more on yogurt

2009-08-22T14:10:00.003-05:00

here's a pic of the yogurt maker. it's basicially like a little incubator. you turn the dial to the number of hours you want to leave the jars in (lids off), and the timer turns off when the yogurt is ready. you have to then chill the jars for at least 3 hours before eating it. our first batch is kinda firm on top, then creamier as you go down. i've read that if you don't have a yogurt maker, you can basically do the same thing by letting the jars sit in an oven overnight.

love and loss (of a job)

2009-08-19T13:27:00.002-05:00

funny how people can lead you to believe one thing about their character and their business when the reality is completely the opposite. d lost his job this week...his slave job at the letterpress plantation - that's the way we think of it. he's very good at the craft, so it's sad for us, especially considering the way he was treated there. out of politeness, i'll leave the name of the studio out of this post, but i don't have anything good to say about the work environment there. i'll never understand why most wealthy people consider it a right to treat others so poorly, and i'll never understand the management style of a person who thinks pushing people too hard, allowing for no mistakes, never saying thank you, and talking to employees in such a hateful way actually fosters creativity in the workplace. duh. that should be the duh of the week, the duh of the century really. this is a situation where i really hope i'm around to personally see the behavior of this couple bite them in the ass.

we've been talking about beginning to print our own stuff on the small press we have at home. i'm sure we wouldn't be the first to start something out of the garage/basement/spare room, so that we can eventually have our ideal...our own shop (preferably in some pretty/cool/gray city...someday) where lots of things are going on and dogs are allowed. perhaps now's the time to do something gutsy. for sure, now's the time for all people to act like damn decent human beings, come on.

first stab at making yogurt. seems easy enough.

2009-08-19T10:44:00.004-05:00

my sweet aunt gave me a yogurt maker she was bored with, so i tried my hand at it last night. the little jars sat in the cooker overnight, and i put them in the fridge this morning so they'll be ready later today. i just made plain yogurt this time, which is my fave anyway, but next time i may try a flavor. yum.

flag book

2009-08-12T14:27:00.003-05:00

paper nerds is having another workshop soon, so i made this to entice you all to come. looks hard, but it's really simple, and you'll always here an "ooh" upon opening it for someone. august 23, 1 to 4 pm. check the paper nerds blog for more info.

repurposed jars

2009-08-11T10:45:00.002-05:00

made these cute things over the weekend...just covered the lids of all my saved jars with japanese paper and mod-podge. they will soon hold spices and sweets and small lovely things.

summer weekend

2009-08-10T10:29:00.010-05:00

shrubbery...ni!

2009-08-03T18:04:00.003-05:00

i still always laugh to myself when i think of the word "shrubbery". this pretty plant is called "pride of barbados" and revealed these amazing blooms just about a week after we put it in the ground. there was a "part sun" spot near the front walk/porch all ready and waiting for a taller plant, and our lucky rains of late have been lots of help in getting this baby established.

new handmades

2009-07-27T17:58:00.003-05:00

made these lovelies in preparation for the previous paper nerds workshop as well as the upcoming one this weekend: easy screen prints made on cotton and old denim that i will soon make into stuffed christmas ornaments; a "blizzard" book (from heidi kyle's instructions) that i made to size for business cards...it's just folded paper, no glue.

marinated tomato and sea bean salad

2009-07-22T15:16:00.002-05:00

had this last night. no recipe, just made it up. and it was yum.

duh of the week

2009-07-13T16:58:00.004-05:00

when is the last time you saw a good toilet papering job like this? and in lakewood. nicely done!