gifts

10 notable noshes on a tuesday

~ jama ~ 22 Comments

 

1. Loving the bright and colorful screen printed greeting cards and paper goods by The Seapink, a NewYork-based design studio owned by Boyoun Kim and Sue Jean Ko. These talented gals originally met several years ago in printmaking class at the School of Visual Arts and bonded over their mutual love for silkscreen printing. Their cards and prints exude a cheerful childlike innocence and are just the thing to brighten up any occasion.

 

 

 

Of course I especially love their food and tea time designs, but their animals and flowers are equally happy-making. Check out their website and Etsy Shop for more. 🙂

 

 

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2. Tolkien fans will enjoy this scenic tour of Hobbiton recently featured at Literary Vittles. You probably know the Lord of the Rings films were shot in New Zealand. Thanks to blogger Alina and photographer Greg, we can all enjoy a peek of The Shire movie set with notable quotes from the books! What a gorgeous, magical place — you kind of expect Bilbo Baggins, Mr. Frodo or Sam to pop out at any moment. Best thing about hobbits? Hairy feet and big appetites. 🙂

 

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3. From Epicurious, “57 Things You Can Do to Be a Better Cook Right Now.” Lots of great tips here and it was fun to see which things on the list I’m already doing. The suggestions range from the very simple “Buy a new kitchen sponge,” to the interesting “Buy your avocados at a Mexican grocery store,” to the sensible “Bake your pies in glass pans,” to the slightly eyebrow-raising “Get your knives professionally sharpened.” Cause there’s always room for improvement, right?

 

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Indie Artist Spotlight: Sylvia of Puffin Patchwork

~ jama ~ 22 Comments

While looking for handmade Christmas ornaments last Fall, I happily discovered Puffin Patchwork on Etsy and instantly fell in love.

Fifi the Poodle

 

 

Who could resist the beautifully crafted felt owls, kitties, Airedales and poodles (all with charming names)? Or the quaint little houses and layered hearts? I could tell by the meticulous attention to detail — the lovely embroidery and appliqué work — that everything was made with a lot of love and pride. I like Sylvia’s color sense and how she incorporates vintage fabric scraps and buttons in her pieces. And I like her endearingly neat stitches that give each item a distinctive handmade look.

 

In addition to felt ornaments, Sylvia makes wonderful wallhangings, coin purses and phone cases. She does all the designing, cutting, sewing, and decorating in her seaside home in South-west Ireland, and draws inspiration from the dramatic landscapes and colorful fishing towns. Sounds like an idyllic setting for an artist, don’t you think?

 

I’m so pleased to welcome Sylvia (a fellow Beatrix Potter fan!) to Alphabet Soup today. She’s been making and selling handmade for 30 years, and I know you’ll like hearing more about her inspirations and process. Thanks for visiting, Sylvia! 🙂

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friday feast: moments of grace

~ jama ~ 47 Comments

 

Now that the holidays are here with all the shopping, baking, decorating, socializing, and seemingly endless things to check off those long To Do Lists, quiet moments are hard to come by.

But I was blessed with a quiet day right before Thanksgiving, having just returned from Hawai’i where we celebrated my Dad’s 100th birthday. I had time to reflect on this momentous event and transition into full-on holiday mode by leisurely doing things that made me happy, truly a day like Alice Walker describes in her lovely poem, “Grace.”

 

GRACE

Gives me a day
too beautiful
I had thought
to stay indoors
& yet
washing my dishes
straightening
my shelves
finally
throwing out
the wilted
onions
shrunken garlic
cloves
I discover
I am happy
to be inside
looking out.
This, I think,
is wealth.
Just this choosing
of how
a beautiful day
is spent.

~ from Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth: New Poems (Random House, 2003).

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chalk it up to lily and val

~ jama ~ 19 Comments

#49 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet

tea
All images © 2014 Lily and Val

There’s something wonderfully nostalgic and old school about chalk art. I remember being so excited when it was my turn to erase the blackboards in grade school. Before clapping the erasers outside, replacing stubs with brand new sticks of chalk, and wiping the boards clean with a wet rag, I liked to “play teacher” with my own little scribbles and drawings.

Now I have three chalkboards in my kitchen: one for the grocery list, one displaying an inspirational quote for the week, the third to advise guests: “Feel free to wait on me.” 🙂 There’s also another chalkboard in our dining room, where I post the menu when we have company for dinner (it’s fun to “play restaurant”).

teatime

No surprise that I fell hard for Valerie McKeehan’s charming hand lettered chalk art, which she features on prints, note cards, stationery, gifts and accessories. Naturally I love her kitchen-themed designs best — tear-off placemats, illustrated recipes, menu boards, foodie sayings. Lily & Val products are quaintly whimsical with that undeniable handmade-heartmade quality I covet, and are available via LilyandVal.com or at the Lily & Val Chalk Art Boutique on Etsy.

I recently ordered some note cards which arrived lickety split — I kind of hate to part with them, but will enjoy sending them to special friends. 🙂

Enjoy this little Lily and Val sampler. How can you resist?

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creativiTEA: loving amy flynn’s fabulous fobots!

~ jama ~ 13 Comments
amy
Raleigh, NC artist Amy Flynn is passionate about shopping and making things.

Fantastic, funky, fine, futuristic, flamboyant, fetching, fierce, fanciful, quirky and wonky.

Amy Flynn’s amazing FOBOTS (Found Object Robots) are just plain fun! She scours the world for cool junk to create her one-of-a-kind sculptures, fascinating characters who go by such whimsical, punny names as “Biscotty,” “Boobarella,” “Dan Sedan,” “Robot Robama,” and “Scubi Dude.”

A freelance illustrator for 25+ years (greeting cards, children’s books, giftware), Amy shifted her focus to fobots when the economy tanked in 2008. She admits to always having a weird fixation for robots and loving flea markets, so why not exercise her creative muscle by doing something that truly makes her happy?

family
“Family Out for a Stroll”

She lives in a 1920’s house and her first fobot was made from an original doorknob as well as other junk she found in her basement. Now, in addition to flea markets and scrapyards, Amy finds spare parts via internet auctions. She solders and bolts the pieces together and includes a numbered copper plate on the back of each sculpture. If the fobot opens, there’s a metal heart inside, just like the tin man.

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