Magnetic Chalkboard Spice Tin Tutorial

So. Excuses for my month's absence. Do I have to give those? Well, in summary...

Forgot to take a picture.
Sick.
Anemia.
Busy.
Forgot.
Strained my eyes.
Forgot.
Forgot.

I actually made and photographed a sewing project the week after my last post, but I never managed to take a picture of the finished product. Eventually I'll do that. Maybe in the dead of winter I'll finally blog about a light blouse for a warm September. For today, though, here's a simple project I did last weekend while the aforementioned eye strain kept me away from computers, books, and everything I usually do for work and play:

Before last May, I had spent the previous 23 years living with other people who already had things like cheese graters and spice jars. So had my boyfriend. So when we got our own place it took us a while to accumulate our own kitchen paraphernalia.

In fact, we never did get around to the spice jars, since I had a set of twelve little tins meant for holding specialty tea that did quite nicely. The only problem was that the Sharpie I used to label them rubbed off too easily, so that I was wasting brain cells remembering that "gano" meant "oregano" and "inna" was code for "cinnamon". And stacking them on a shelf was just not an efficient storage system.

"One of these days," I often said, "I'm going to paint these with chalkboard paint and stick them on the fridge." And after 148 days, I did.

Here's what you'll need to do it yourself:

• 12 small tins
• Painter's tape
• A piece of sandpaper
• A small can of chalkboard paint
• A paintbrush
• 12 fairly strong magnets

Step One:
Clean and dry your tins. Mine still had spices in them while I did this. I don't really recommend that — if I'd emptied them, I could have painted the whole lid instead of just the top. I also could have cooked using spices that weekend.

Step Two:
Carefully tape around your tin until just the surface you want to paint is showing. Smooth the edges of the tape down firmly.

Step Three:
Scratch up the surface with sandpaper. The scratches give the paint something to grip.

Step Four:
Paint the lid with chalkboard paint. Don't worry if the first coat is very thin — it will stick better with every coat you add, and it dries quickly. I did about five coats on my tins, painting in a different direction each time so that the brush strokes didn't make little ridges all facing one way.

[Somehow I missed taking this picture. Imagine a painted tin sitting on the table. Thanks.]

Step Five:
When the paint has dried thoroughly (I left mine overnight), remove the tape carefully. If any paint has bled down under the edge of the tape, you should be able to chip it away neatly using a fingernail through a rag. Fill the tin with your spice and write the name on with chalk.

Step Six:
This was my favourite part of the project. Tins are magnetic, right? And so are fridges. And so are both sides of a magnet. So who needs to glue the magnet to the tin? Not us! Stick your magnet on the fridge.

Step Seven:
Now stick your tin right on that magnet. Did you buy yours at a craft store? That's too bad. They're cheaper at the hardware store. Just thought I'd mention it.

Aww, look how nice they look! And we didn't have to buy them at, say, $9.95 for a set of five. Ouch!

And, hey, shout-out to my friend Sarah at Meat Locker Editions whose pamphlet made it into two of these pictures. We did our book publishing certificates together and now she's running her own not-for-profit arts organization. You should definitely check it out.

Oh, and Mom, Dad, my eyes are fine. I went to the optometrist and everything. Please don't worry.

Happy crafting, everyone!



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Wearing That Bridesmaid Dress Again

Earlier this summer I had the pleasure of being a bridesmaid for my good friend Maggie. Being the considerate soul she is, Maggie decided not to pick out expensive bridesmaid dresses for us to buy—instead she consulted with one of us about what shades of lime green were acceptable, and picked out a cheap polyester fabric. Five meters of green, a bit of brown trim, and thirty dollars later, we were all set to make or commission the knee-length dress of our choice.

I made my dress using Made by Rae's Washi Dress pattern (see my practice dress here), and I loved it. It was flattering and comfy and cool. AND it had pockets. But once my friends were safely married and the dress was hanging in my closet, the bright, solid colour just carried that unmistakeable whiff of Bridesmaid. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but it does make a dress less wearable in the real world.

Luckily, with such a casual fabric, I knew the problem could be solved by simply breaking up the solid-ness of the colour. Enter embroidery floss and buttons:

I love circle motifs, so I grabbed a few glasses and containers of different sizes and traced them onto the fabric. See the faint pencil lines?

Then I embroidered along the lines using a running stitch, sewed on some judicious buttons, and added a little more embroidery along the waistband and collar.

Let's look a little closer.

Okay, time for details.

I'm not going to say this was a quick fix, because it did take many hours of work, but those were also hours spent cuddled in front of the TV, so it was a very relaxing job.

And now it's done! I get to wear it! I love that part.

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Despicable Crochet

I don't know about the rest of the country, but here in Toronto the weather took one look at the calendar and said, "It's September now. Time for autumn." The summer heat has disappeared, the days are dawning clear and chill, and the breeze seems fresh even downtown.

It's beautiful.

I fully intended to enjoy the weather and the free time on the Labour Day long weekend, and had lots of half-formed plans relating to my garden and my sewing machine. Instead, perversely, I was sick the whole time. Oh, well, you can't have everything.

It was looking like I wasn't going to have a single crafty thing to show for my three-day weekend, which was quite depressing, and I was glumly scrolling through Pinterest when my boyfriend looked over my shoulder.

"Make me that," he said.

He was kidding, but the crocheted minion he was pointing to (à la Despicable Me) looked simple enough. And you don't need health or energy to crochet. I sent him to find my yellow yarn.

Two episodes of Torchwood later (that show does not satisfy the Doctor Who cravings), I had this:

It isn't a new dress or a weed-free garden, but it's fun and it made someone smile. And when you've been sick down in the dumps for three days, that's a good feeling. Better, I'd say, than the new dress.

But I'm still hoping to do some real sewing this weekend.

How about you?

No More Craft Supplies

Have you ever forbidden yourself to buy craft supplies?*

*If you aren't a crafter, you can imagine this is about your own hobby by replacing "craft supplies" with "car parts" or "fancy spices" or "gnome-shaped snow globes" or whatever makes you happy.

It's hard!

Living in a small apartment on a small budget, it's a smart choice to make. Nothing could be more reasonable than using up the things I have before I buy new ones. Under "things," see:

* one drawer full of thread
* one drawer full of yarn
* one drawer full of lace and ribbons
* one drawer full of highfalutin' artist supplies
* five big Mason jars of buttons
* two big bins of assorted fabric

Let's not even talk about the space taken up by my two sewing machines, my excessive collection of scissors-that-must-never-touch-paper, my sinister-looking case lined with crochet hooks, and all the other tools of my various crafty trades. Honestly, if I didn't keep mending his favourite jeans I don't know how my boyfriend would put up with me.

And yet, in spite of all these wonderful things, it's so hard to just say, "Enough's enough." Because, well, I do need sewing machine oil. And surely I'll sew more clothing if I get that wonderful Swedish tracing paper. And who says you can ever have too many buttons? **

**Answer: my boyfriend.

But this time I have put my foot down. NO MORE CRAFT SUPPLIES. Even if it means that when I suddenly feel ambitious enough to crochet a whole sweater, I actually only have enough of any one yarn for this:

Well, it did keep the sun off my shoulders. Except for the holes.

My boyfriend posted this picture on Facebook with the caption, "Can you see the resemblance?" Meaning, ha ha, my girlfriend is so short this flower is as tall as she is. But I prefer to think he meant my sunny disposition.

Have you ever forced yourself to use up your hobby supplies? Did you succeed? Did you go crazy? Did you discover untapped depths of creativity?

I'm hoping for the last option.

Happy crafting!

Or, you know, snow globing. 

Love,
Erin

In which Erin writes a lot and is kind of mercenary (but still really cute, right?)

I mentioned in my last post that I've been making and selling art lately, just on a small scale. For a while I had an Etsy shop, but to be honest no one actually used it; they just emailed me and said, "Hey, I want that picture of the dragon who thinks he's totally fabulous." And since I found it very tedious to list my items their way, follow their rules, and pay their listing fees, I've decided that blog-and-facebook-page-and-email is the way to go.

Not that I'm knocking Etsy. It's a fabulous marketplace for handmade goods, and I love that it's created a way for thousands of artists, artisans, and crafters to run their own businesses. I probably could have been successful if I'd taken the time to promote my work to the general Etsy-shopping public. But I prioritized my time in other places, so my customers have all been within one degree of separation. And I'm okay with that. Though I'm also okay with expanding.

Where, you might ask, did this fascinating art style come from? (Note: while you read this, please imagine it being spoken in an over-enthusiastic-storyteller voice. Bonus points for doing it out loud. Thank you.) Many years past, when I was but a youth - nay, barely more than a child - I worked at summer camp.

It was a place of great wonder and much physical activity... save for the annual ritual of Staff Training Week. During this time our young bottoms were consigned to the hard wooden floor of the lodge, our young ears listening attentively to the wisdom being imparted to us by older, wiser camp staff. And yea, though our minds were indeed absorbed by this important work, our fingers were free to fidget. And on one day of bright June sunlight (or, there again, perhaps it was a day of grim June rain), my fingers gripped a pencil and drew the outline of a cat upon the margin of my notes. And thereupon I proceeded to fill this cat not with fur and whiskers and mischief, but with shapes and lines and patterns and whimsy.

From that day forth my margins - whether at camp, or in the hallowed halls of university, or upon the
letters I wrote to my one true love - were filled with the shapes of animals. I learned to trace the curve of muscles without drawing their line. I learned to hint at markings without drawing fur. I learned, I hope, to capture the spirit of a creature without representing its true appearance.

And so, when many years had passed and an art store moved in across the road, and I discovered beautiful, textured papers there, and my one true love gifted me with proper pens, I used the lessons of my youth to create the art you see here in these images.

And none need ever know that I don't know how to properly draw and shade the animals' actual markings...



Okay, that was fun. Thanks for indulging me. It's been WAY to long since I blogged and I think it's running away with me.

So here comes the mercenary part: you can now check out my current stock of available drawings by clicking the button at the top of this page that says, "Art for Sale." If you like a piece and want to buy it, email me and let me know.

If you like a piece and don't want to buy it, you can say so in a comment and I'll enjoy that, too ;)

I usually accept payment through email transfer, but we can work out alternate methods if necessary. Local friends who want to meet up in person will get some quality hang-out time with me... and I'll also knock the $1.00 service charge off the price (making it $20.00 even).

Custom orders! I do those. You can pick any animal (or mythical creature, etc.) and I'll draw it. You can pick a material other than my usual watercolour paper and I'll draw on it. You can pick a size and shape other than 7" x 5" or 5" x 7". If we're going to get super complicated we may re-negotiate the price, but I'm sure we'll see the adventure through.


For years I've been thinking about transferring these drawings to fabric and sewing something amazing with them. I haven't been brave enough to try yet. You know when an idea is so shiny in your mind that you're really afraid you might have to watch it fail? Yeah.

Love you all!
Erin

Nice to see you again!

Hello world,
It's been a while. I've been busy—blogging for work, learning to make book trailers (which is super fun), settling into a new rhythm of life. My sister has a new job in the east end, so she moved out that way and took her husband, her dog, and my adorable niece with her. I found my own place with my boyfriend. Lately I've been feeling the itch to get back to Twilight Tree, so to get my feet wet here is a recap of some of the things I've been up to since I was here last.

Made this quilt for a church auction

Made the new apartment "home"

Made my first Washi Dress!

 (I also made a second Washi for a bridesmaid dress. A lot of my friends have gotten married lately. It's like we're grownups or something).

Finished this quilt (and got awesome bedroom furniture)

Planted a garden in the BACK YARD!! No more 11th floor!

I've also been playing around with the stylized animal pictures I started doodling in the margins of my notes during university. I'm considering re-stocking my Etsy shop, but I'm also considering selling them more informally, maybe through this site. We'll see what happens.

Oh, I also completed the first draft of a novel. Yay! Revising is harder than I expected, but it's satisfying, too.

And I also became a Whovian. 

Yup. That's where all my time has gone since June.

That's my update! I'll pop in again soon with a post about... something. I don't know what. It's an adventure!

Love,

Erin