New fun toys! {the homespun life – photography; embroidery; sewing}

It’s been almost like Christmas around here lately! The hubby and I both celebrate our birthdays in August and our wedding anniversary is in July, so the summer season in our household is always showered in gifts. This year was no exception. Remember my gorgeous antique singer sewing machine? Well I finally got it back to working order about a month ago, and to celebrate the hubby got me a gorgeous cast iron treadle table and a lovely all-wood antique sewing box that is now home to my embroidery floss and tools.

I was thrilled to come home and find these antique beauties! But it got even better a few weeks later when my birthday gift arrived: a brand new lens for my beloved Canon! I’ve been needing a zoom lens for portraiture (my wide angles are no help in that department), and the new one is a perfect multi-purpose lens. I’ve already found it to be useful in all sorts of different contexts:

I even took it with me last week on my photo shoot with Kay Harmon Photography and got some great shots! Needless to say, I’m head over heels for both the hubby and this wonderful lens. I’ve also got a 5-in-1 reflector coming my way, so be on the lookout for more portrait shoots showing up here in the next few months. I’m so excited! And speaking of portrait shoots, if you live in the Houston, DFW, Austin, or San Antonio areas (or anywhere in between), check out my new portraits section – I’m looking for volunteers to help me build my portfolio, and there’s a lot of freebies in it for you if you want to join the fun!

Weekend Wishlist – Gilder’s Paste {the homespun life: handmade jewelry}

I know it’s been months since I had anything new to show you guys in the realm of metal clay jewelry. Believe me, I miss it! I’m still working on the massive studio unpack project of 2011, but I can’t wait to get back in there and get some clay under my fingernails!

Meantime, I’m positively itching to try this stuff out:

It’s called Gilder’s Paste, and it looks unbelievably cool! While I absolutely love the intense and unforgiving process of enamel, there are times that I want a quicker result or a more “rustic” look. This stuff looks like it might provide exactly that! I absolutely love the texture and the old-world feel. Check out the products page for some amazing images from artist Lorena Angulo – I can’t get over that gorgeous rose ring!

My angelic duties are done! {homespun life: hand embroidery}

As promised yesterday, here are the final finished products from the Stitching Angels project! I started out making a set of coasters:

I picked four birds from the set in similar sizes and complimentary designs (not too many repeated elements, not too many facing the same direction, etc.) and stitched them onto the lower corners of four squares of natural linen. I used stem stitch for the birds themselves, back stitch for legs and feet, satin stitch for their beaks, french knots for eyes, running stitch for accents here and there, and, of course, a lazy daisy (detached chain stitch) for the flower on the pink bird. I used DMC floss in 597 (blue), 3858 (orange), 3722 (pink), and 732 (green). I backed the coasters with squares of pale yellow terry cloth (to absorb that condensation!) and stitched the two sides together with running stitch, using a naturally dyed warm brown embroidery floss purchased from The Barefoot Shepherdess. I decided to leave the edges unfinished so the coasters will develop a “shabby chic” raveled edge over time.

But one project just wasn’t enough, so then I moved on to what Sara called the “softie size” pattern and made a little stuffed bird just for funsies:

It’s a bit misshapen (done in a hurry and not very well planned out!), but I love it all the same. :) The outline is done in stem stitch with two threads of DMC 597 and two threads of DMC 747 to give a variegated look. The satin stitching on his wing and eye and the french knots on his tail were done in DMC 3858, and his legs were backstitched with the same hand-dyed brown that I used on the coasters.I gave him the same pale yellow terry cloth backing that the coasters got, partly because it’s soft and huggable and partly because it’s what I had on hand at the time. Done and done!

So there you have it! Be sure to check out The Split Stitch for everyone else’s fun reveals and to see what other projects folks came up with.

Stitching Angels Sneak Peek: {the homespun life – hand embroidery}

As I mentioned last week, I volunteered to be part of the “Stitching Angels” series over at The Split Stitch. I’ve been working off and on for a few weeks on a couple little pieces to illustrate Sara’s Scandinavian Birds pattern, and the two projects are finally both complete. Huzzah!

Sara will be posting the final product on her blog tomorrow and I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so I’m just posting a sneak peek for now.

Check back both here and at The Split Stitch tomorrow for the big reveal!

The endless quest to get my shit together: {the homespun life – small business}

Those of you who know me at all will know that I am constantly fighting a losing battle to get (and keep) my shit together. It will come as no surprise to you, then, that despite having lived in Houston for over 2 full months now I still have yet to get my studio unpacked. Right now it looks like this:

Which, believe it or not, is a huge improvement over yesterday. Hopefully, over the next few weeks it will slowly become usable as various tools and materials emerge from their two-month hibernation. I look forward to dusting off the Fire Arts section of this blog, and maybe even posting some new jewelry items up in the shop.

In a further attempt to get my shit together, I’m attempting to schedule my writing for this blog in such a way that I can get up 5-6 posts a week. Quixotic, you say? Well, probably. But I do have help! I found a gem of an organizational resource the other say while browsing the much-neglected ranks of my google reader feed.

Those of you who found this blog while looking for online hand-embroidery resources probably already know about Wild Olive. (She’s a crafty blogger with a fun, modern style and great business savvy.) She recently posted a free .pdf download of a blog planner that she and Tara of Sew Tara had collaborated to make, and I snatched it up as soon as I saw it.

As I try to amp up this blog into something a bit more serious – you know, like, with regular posts and stuff? – this little planner may be just the ticket! I didn’t print mine in the fun color scheme (trying to save my pennies), but I did throw together a quick personalized cover. I bound the thing myself with my zimmer bind-it-all (that I had to unpack three boxes to find, and that I’m clearly not very good with, but it’ll do!) and I’ve already begun using it. Get your own and let me know much you love it!

Fun with Kay Harmon Photography! {the homespun life: portrait photography}

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Dallas with my good friend Kay of Kay Harmon Photography and assist her on a family portrait session. It could not have been a more perfect trip, except perhaps for the weather! But despite the withering 110 degree heat, this amazing family was completely positive and upbeat. We had a blast, and I was able to snap a few fun candid shots of Kay in action. (Isn’t she amazing? You can also find her on facebook.)

Check out her blog for more sneak peeks of this wonderful session – trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

An angel? Me? Oh, my. {The Homespun Life – Embroidery}

I’m a bit late in telling you fun folks about this, but I’ve been doing a bit of guest posting of late, over at The Split Stitch. Sweet Sara, who stitches up all manner of glorious things as well as designing some downright adorable patterns, sent out a call for help a while back. She was having trouble finding the time to stitch up samples of all her new pattern sets, and was offering the sets for free to any kind soul willing to help her out.

You better bet I volunteered! I love Sara’s pattern sets, to begin with. And lately (as you may have noticed from the dearth of posts here), I’ve had less and less time for my own creative pursuits. I’d love to be stitching, but drawing up designs is something I just don’t have the time for at the moment. Sara’s situation gave me the perfect chance to get that needle and floss back out with some ready-made patterns. Score!

Anywho, myself and several others are participating in this fun event. Sara’s calling it “Stitching Angels”, and the intro post went up on her blog a few weeks ago. The progress update will be going up in a few days, but I thought I’d give you guys a sneak peek. Check out The Split Stitch tomorrow afternoon to join the fun!

To the Zoo! {The Homespun Life – Photo Blog}

Last week the hubby and I joined some good friends of ours for a special after-hours event at the Houston Zoo. Photographers of all shapes and sizes were lined up for the chance to snap some shots of the Carnivores, typically nocturnal animals who usually aren’t out posing for photos during the hot Houston days. I joined the throng and had a thoroughly good time despite experiencing some serious lens-envy.

My very helpful assistant: {The Homespun Life – Photo Blog}

I mentioned a few posts ago that I had a new helper. His name is Josiah (Joe for short) and in that post you saw lots of photos of his energetic puppy-face. Like this one:

Adorable. But here’s the thing – during the day, I see a lot more of this:

Simple Sandesh Recipe: {The Homespun Life – Food Blog}

It’s been quite a while since I had any adventures in the kitchen, largely because my kitchen has been packed away in a pile of boxes for about a month. So when some friends invited us over for Indian food last week I jumped at the chance to make dessert, and I decided on Sandesh.

Sandesh is one of the most popular, oldest, and traditional desserts in India. The basic recipe couldn’t be simpler – paneer (Indian cottage cheese) and sugar. From there, the chef can add pretty much any flavor or spice she can think of, though Sandesh are traditionally flavored with cardamom.

As I learned, though, the actual construction of these delicious truffle-like treats takes a skilled hand. Luckily, I had a professional on my side. I called my good friend Shormila for tips before getting started, and she simply passed the phone off to her mother, a proclaimed “Indian Dessert Expert”. Boy, was that the right move! She gave me very specific instructions, and thanks to her my experiment was a success.