I attended the Renegade Craft Fair yesterday, hoping to cross off all of the names on my list and ending up with the most special gift for... myself. A poem.
oh, these wings
for lani
oh, these wings,
these wings!
how they open
my everything
into everything.
how they make
infinite possibility
something
palpable as
breath from this
beautiful body.
- Silvi
12.17.11
What a gift she has. To learn more and to possibly find the most amazing gift for someone you love (or yourself) visit thepoetrystore.net. (and watch the video below)
And P.S. Renegade is still happening today - if you didn't make it out yesterday - GO NOW! Happy Holidays!
and Happy Easter! Hope you spend this weekend with family and friends and enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
If you are in San Francisco tomorrow, head over to the SF Underground Market - I'm so excited to see what it's all about and to try some delicious creations!
Yesterday I tried
to meditate
and instead of god
I was visited by
a marketing plan for
vegan eight-layer dip.
I could have felt exhausted
by my mind’s insolence.
But I decided
to heck with it
maybe I’ve let my assumptions
about meditation
crowd out the thing itself.
Maybe I’ve piled on
expectations like moss
and the truth
has gone stagnant.
Maybe I need to unpeel
my beliefs from my experiences
and let them both run naked
for a while.
So today I turned it over
to Fats Waller and let him swing
my thoughts around
eyes wide open
and I can’t say for sure
but I think that was god in the corner
doing a double-shag.
Awesome poetry over at bentlily - a poem a day for a year to be exact. I discovered this gem in my inbox this morning via whitehot truth . Have officially joined the bentlily mailing list so that I might have one of these goodies in my inbox every morning...
Tomorrow is the screenprinting workshop {taught by Andy Kane through the Oh Happy Day classes} that I signed up for way back when - yay! I am beyond excited to learn this skill and plan to put it to very good use, you know, once I figure out what it is exactly that I want to screenprint... And, lucky for you it looks like they may still have some spaces left. If you have no plans, come and join! It is from 10-2 in San Francisco at the Ferney art studio. Details are here.
The sun has been shining in full force for the past few days and though I know Spring is not yet here, I want to be outside with my hands in the dirt, planting and tending to gardens... I love this idea for a two-tiered herb garden and will definitely be adding this to my 'to-plant' list when the time comes... so pretty.
I thought, today being Friday and all, we could fantasize about a little trip up to wine country for the weekend. Destination? Indian Springs in Calistoga, CA. With an olympic sized mineral pool (which is indeed warm) that we could float in all day. Perhaps a mud bath at some point. A cozy cottage to curl up in at night. And a myriad of restaurants and wineries to entertain us in between. I was lucky enough to spend a few days here for my birthday one year and will be going back at some point - even if just for the day for a spa treatment and to float in the glorious pool...
I am always so inspired when I hear about someone taking a craving, which has turned into a full-fledged passion and turning it into a business. I ran across the story of INNAjam today and wanted to share it with you.
Long story made very short: Dafna Kory was at a Thanksgiving dinner where they served an appetizer involving jalapeno jam {yum} and cream cheese. She became so addicted to the flavor that she searched high and low for this elusive jalapeno jam, but could not find it anywhere - so she made it. She perfected it, she gave it away, people loved it. She became inspired to try new flavors and voila! - INNAjam was born.
The creative name, the simple graphics, the all local, all organic philosophy = perfection.
I'm so inspired by Dafna, that I really have no choice but to participate in this Meyer Lemon workshop that I discovered over on Good Food Month - I also secretly hope that we will become fast friends and she will share with me her secrets of success so that I may take a certain passion of my own and create the long awaited empire - stay tuned...
{all you Bay Area folks, definitely check in on the Good Food Month website regularly for fun food events.}
MORE INFO ON THE WORKSHOP WITH DAFNA:
Sweet & Savory Preserved Meyer Lemons
Local: Mission Eatery
January 30th
5:00 - 7:00 PM
Tickets: $40
with Dafna from INNA JAM. Learn to extend Meyer lemon season. Everyone will make their own jar of meyer lemon marmalade and preserved meyer lemons. As always, bites and beverages included.
Lately I've been having a serious craving to make some ART. I mean, I seriously want to go down to the art store today {if only my bank account would cooperate} and invest a couple hundred dollars in oil paints, brushes and canvas and just see what happens. {how much would a beginning set up even cost? what exactly would I need?} Well - add it to my list for 2011: An experiment in painting. Though this has really been a "to-do" since my drawing classes back in college, in the last week a few things have renewed my interest...
these Butterfly paintings from Anthropologie (a fun concept to try to recreate) and basically all of the art I see in the photographs of interior spaces that I scour daily:
the French film Seraphine:
Does anyone know of an oil painting class in the Bay Area that would be great for a beginner? Here's to new creative endeavors!
I just signed myself up for a Sparka Screenprinting Workshop - part of the Oh Happy Day Spring class lineup. I've been wanting to learn how to do my own screenprinting for soooo long and can not wait for the class in March! So fun to learn new things and I definitely plan on doing a lot of that this year...
If you are in the San Francisco area and interesting in becoming skillful at screenprinting, you should sign up too!
Today I actually followed through and made the melting snowman cookies I posted about here with my nephew. They turned out really cute and he had so much fun - highly recommend this activity if you have kids in your life.
I've never made a custom photo book online, but have been gifted one a couple of times and these are the sweetest gifts. They are so fun to look through, and something that I know I will keep forever. Plus, the major companies that offer this service are all having HUGE holiday discounts.
Snapfish {25% off} Shutterfly {Buy 1, Get 50% off additional + free shipping on orders over $25}
Does this count as handmade? I'm just going to go with it...
I'm working with "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" on in the background today - all set to a cold and cloudy day. Ahhhhh, nostalgia! Watch it online here or here.
I'm hoping that by posting this now, I will mark my calendar and be sure to attend this years Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Sale. It is being held in San Francisco at the Concourse Exhibition Center on December 18th and 19th . I wasn't able to attend last year, but can only imagine all of the wonderful vendors they have lined up with the perfect handmade gifts. {And if nothing else, I'm sure to pick up a few little goodies for myself and become a fan of a few new-to-me artists/craftspeople.} Best of all it is FREE to attend!
I will not forget, I will not forget, I will not forget...
I always have the BEST intentions to give the coolest, most thoughtful handmade gifts... then days and weeks go by and before I know it the occasion/holiday/what-have-you is upon me with no time to spare for handmade cards, candles, body scrubs, knitted goodies, etc. So listen up all you DIY-ers out there... it is not too early to start, no really, it's not. It is November after all, and here for a little inspiration and a TON of really great gift ideas, projects {and freebies} is Gifted Magazine {spotted on SFGirlByBay} lovingly put together by Ez over at Creature Comforts.
