Back to reality

Oh wow, it's been quite a while since I posted on here. I have an excuse, really...

Actually, I have a few: looking for jobs, being sick, doing non-artsy projects, cleaning the house, etc. In any case, I'm back with another blog post!

First of all, I've been working on this little room decorating project for my parents, but I sort of forgot to take some "before" pictures and I don't have any in-progress pictures yet, but I will start to get them up here soon, promise!

What I DO have pictures of are my new products on Etsy!

I have a photo frame I designed to look kind of like a scrapbook page. I got a nice plain photo frame and then used this super cute scrapbook paper I have with a vintage sewing theme as a backdrop. Instead of the usual matte-approach, I thought I'd use photo corners. I'm pretty pleased with the finished product, it is a unique and fun way to show off a snapshot!

["Sew Sweet" Photo Frame]

My other new product is a re-purposed spiral notebook which has been pretty fun to do. I started with a really, really ugly mass-produced spiral notebook from the bargin bin. You know the kind... it was this plain glossy cover with really bright yellow and white stripes, and not pretty to look at!

[Old covering, after it had been removed from notebook]

I got to thinking though about how I could make something like that great and decided to re-cover it with my own unique touch. I had some super-cute garden-themed scrapbook paper with smiling strawberries and decided that would be perfect and I think it turned out great!

[Re-purposed "Homegrown" journal]

I used the old cover to make a template for my new paper and used some coordinating cardstock stickers and polka dot paper as accents on the front and inside of the journal.

[Front cover of journal, with "Date" sticker and decorative edged polka dot paper]

I'm pretty excited about the whole project - I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but thought I'd give it a try and it turned out better than I imagined.

Other than that, I posted another few items which are featured in previous posts here, so no more pictures. It felt really good to get caught up with posting my items and now I feel like I can move on to new things, which is good since I have a few picture frames, some cork boards and a bunch of old, random computer parts to get all creative with.

I promise I'll post some pictures of the room soon - sorry I noobed and forgot to chronicle the whole experience. <3

Dry erase - part 2

Well, I've been a good girl today! I put the finishing touches on a custom card job that I've had in the works for a while. They're for a friend and were custom made to her specifications, so aren't much like my usual aesthetic, but I still think they turned out nicely!

[Hedgehog cards custom-made to order for a friend]

You can't see them in the picture, but the pink envelopes have a matching floral motif - all in all, pretty cute.

After cleaning up that mess (and let me tell you, was it a mess), I got the urge to put together another dry erase board. This one had a custom-sized 10" x 10" silver frame that I put together. I also had to hand-cut the acrylic to size. I started by using my sharp craft knife and a ruler, but was having a hard time keeping it straight. I moved it to the rotary cutter to try and get a nice scored line, thinking I'd finish cutting through with the craft knife, but after scoring with the rotary, it just snapped neatly along the line! That was WAY more exciting and easy than I imagined.

[Dry Erase board features hard acrylic surface suspended 1/4" above colorful design]

Other than that, the only challenge was getting the spring clips mounted in the middle of each side of the frame (they kept slipping when I tried to put the acrylic sheet in on top), but in the end, it turned out fairly nicely! The background is about 1/4" behind the acrylic surface and gives it a nice shadow box feeling.

[Decorative background of dry erase board features colorful scrapbook paper, vellum covered writing area and sewing-themed embellishments]

I'm really excited about these dry erase boards and hope to make more in the near future (my very tiny apartment seems to be filled with frames and cork boards of all sizes).

Other than that, I caught up with some picture taking and posting for the Facebook page and posted an item for sale on Etsy. I'm hoping to post a few more items in the coming days to work on filling out the store a little, but that's all for tonight! See you soon!

-Aja

Technical Things...

Well, I've been spending the time since my last post working on getting together all of my technical things. I've been tweaking this blog (like the new look?) and setting up my new Facebook page (stop by and have a look). Since I've been wrapped up in all that (and I must admit, a little Oblivion and Final Fantasy XIII also), I haven't gotten much done, but have done a little!

The one thing I have been doing is working on developing the first of my new decorative dry erase boards. I have one shaped board partially done and I'm really liking the looks of it so far!

[Lightweight dry erase board features smiling vegetables, decorative edge and brad details]

I still have to reinforce the holes around the brads with some grommets (really need to find my grommet tool!) and put the stiff backing and some magnets on the back for finishing.

I'm planning on doing a few more of these, with different patterns. I also have a few different kinds of frames that I'm going to try out for more finished office-style boards instead of the more casual fridge-variety here. What do you think? Want to see more of these?

-Aja

Getting Started

Let me just start by warning you that this will be a little bit of a non-traditional crafting blog, and telling you a little about myself and my passions.  Throughout the years, I've experimented on and off with different forms of arts and crafts, dabbling in drawing, painting, pottery, crochet, cross-stitch, paper crafts, origami and anything involving stationary.  On the other hand, I'm a hardcore gamer and computer nerd.  And last, but not least, I am obsessed with Sociology, specifically the areas of it which critique pop culture and the impact and meaning it has on society.

Perhaps because they seem so disparate, I've always treated these passions as being somewhat mutually exclusive, however one never truly exists without the others.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I've created stationary and cards with a more expected, traditional feeling (see photo), but really I get the most joy out of the more quirky stuff I make, like "Oh hai" greeting cards (see photo)...they just make me giggle.

[Recent commission work in a more "traditional" craft style]

I didn't really think about why this was at first and just wrote it off as my "sense of style", loving the unexpected.  However, as I've gone along in my studies, I've stopped to think about why this is and realized that I find the contrary nature of technological, computer or internet-based sentiments with a somewhat outmoded method of communication (and other similar contradictions) fascinating.  I know I'm a dork, sorry.

["Oh hai" greeting cards - blank on the inside]

In the end, it seems to come down to my roles and interests.  I think we're forced to artificially fragment parts of ourselves into this group, or that activity and leave the rest behind.  Yet, for me, when I can combine different interests and ideas into one cohesive project/activity it leaves me feeling EXTRA fulfilled, and I think it's because I'm bringing those parts of myself back together.  

I'm a nerd-crafter, a social commentator, a needlepoint-ing feminist and a video game studier; and those things are okay.  I don't have to choose one to be today, or tomorrow.  And you shouldn't have to either.

I hope to blur the lines between these identities as I go along, drawing attention to the false delineation and clear cut lines between manufacturing and hand crafting, low-tech techniques and pop-cultural subjects, traditionalism and modernity, and other contradictions I have yet to discover.  But most of all, I hope to make some fantastic arts and crafts that I (and others) can enjoy.

-Aja