Finally! We can see a little, teeny, tiny break in the weather here in St. Louis. It's been a long extra-cold winter and I am absolutely sick of it. Our studio is in a wonderful neighborhood called the Central West End, and at the smallest rise in temperature, all the restaurants put some tables outside which are instantly filled with determined people turning their faces to the sun, trying to pretend it's not still freezing.

This is the neighborhood where I had my first real, grown-up job, working in a small ad agency. I worked right across the street from my current studio, as a matter of fact. It was an incredibly fun place then and it still is. I'm so glad we're back! There are a lot of really great places to eat and some truly magical shops and antique stores and of course, my very favorite bookstore, Left Bank Books, where I had my first art show so many years ago.

The neighborhood association has been so welcoming to us and I love participating in all the activities they arrange to promote the area. I've judged the wild Halloween costume event and have just illustrated the poster for their first annual Easter Parade and Spring Festival. Here it is (see photo below). As you can see, it's a fun neighborhood - you should check it out! Tell the Central West End I sent you.

Links:
http://www.thecwe.com/

http://www.left-bank.com/

http://www.rothschildsstl.com/

http://www.dineatduffs.com/

 

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I’ve been keeping journals ever since I was 10 years old, when my dad gave me a five-year diary in a sandalwood box.

Every writer and artist I know keeps some kind of a journal, whether written or visual, online or between book covers.

“A journal is a great resource for a writer,” says Joe Schuster, who often writes for HOME COMPANION. “I ask all of my writing students to keep one. First of all, it’s good practice: the more a writer writes, the better he or she gets. Also, you never know when you’ll be able to use something you see or hear. Say you’re sitting in a café with your notebook and a little girl leans over to pour some cream into her mother’s coffee. The mother slaps her daughter’s hand away, sending the creamer clattering across the café, where it splashes a bearded man in a three-piece suit who’s doing a crossword puzzle. So you record the incident in your journal. Later, as a fiction writer, you can come back to that moment and say, ‘What if I write that random scene out to a conclusion? Where will that take me? Was the mother angry at her little girl before she poured the cream? How does the bearded man react? What happens to these people when they leave the café?’”

Artist and teacher Polly Saputo also keeps journals. “I’ve been doing it since my first year in art school, when keeping a sketchbook was part of my work for drawing class,” she says. “It’s fun and inspiring—I draw ideas for my artwork, tuck in bits of ephemera, and write down how I feel and what’s going on with me. It’s therapy. It keeps me even. I never miss a day.”

Every year, Polly gives me the same gift on my birthday: a blank book, its bare pages both a thrilling invitation and a challenging taunt.
                          
My friend Polly gave me this Donny Osmond notebook back in 1974. It’s filled with bad writing and good memories.

In addition to the wonderful journals and notebooks shown in Noteworthy, there are endless ways for artists and writers to keep track of ideas. Mary Engelbreit, of course, designs notebooks and journals for every occasion and purpose. Check out a few of them here.
 
Or you can create your own journal to suit your individual needs, either by embellishing a blank book or inexpensive notebook or by pulling together scrapbooking elements. You’ll find a few sources below.

http://www.annagriffin.com/project/index.html

http://www.simplescrapbooksmag.com/shop/item.ihtml?idx=253

http://www.moleskine.it/eng/_interni/catalogo/Cat_int/catalogo_diaries.htm

http://sfmoma.stores.yahoo.net/fiveyeardiary.html

http://www.paperstudio.com/catalog2.php?maincat=Journals

 

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‘Tis the season. Not the fa-la-la-la holiday season, but ‘tis the show season, when vendors from around the world exhibit new product for shop owners, designers, and the press. The shows last for several days and along with the exhibits are workshops, demonstrations, parties, etc. In early February, executive editor Barbara Martin and I attended the International Gift Show in New York City where we saw great stuff to feature in This We Like, Out On A Whim, and other parts of the magazine. Recently, I attended the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) show in Anaheim, California.

I was excited about attending the CHA show for many reasons. Sure, I may be able to get my head out of a crafted-paper bag, but now I have a greater idea of how to design, embellish, paint, cut, and shape one.

Doodlebug Design’s glitter, Sugar Coating, comes in luscious colors such as Swimming Pool, Limeade, and Ladybug. These large jars of glitter were a magnet to everyone visiting the booth. Launched at the show was Crushed Velvet, bottles of flock to create your own flock designs on any surface— very ingenious. It’s also available in the same luscious colors.  

                  
                                       Doodlebug Designs

                  
                                       Doodlebug Designs


Rouge De Garance, a Sandy Lion company, had an oh-so-chic booth. Their scrapbooking design for home décor application was wonderful and refreshing. Their first collection of scrapbooking collections and albums will launch this spring.

                            
                                        Rouge De Garnace

Heather Bailey’s introduction with Autumn Leaves incorporates many of her  FreshCut designs from Free Spirit fabric. The collection is very colorful and imaginative and includes mini folders for card storage.

Scrapbooking pages with die cut edges were a big hit. Several manufacturers showed this added bonus. Sassafras Lass had cute orange-slice scallops and Making Memories featured circular pages that looked like whimsical placemats.

                
                                         Sassafras Lass

                
                                    Making Memories

For all your storage and toting needs, Anna Griffin has a wonderful collection of totes, some with wheels and all in her beautiful patterns. Each collection is available as a limited edition. We were told that many crafters collect them all and use the totes to travel to ‘crafting bees’, where friends gather to craft.

                          
                                             Anna Griffin

www.rougedegarance.com

www.doodlebug.ws

www.autumnleaves.com

www.heatherbailey.typepad.com

www.makingmemories.com

www.sassafraslass.com

http://www.hobby.org


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A business contact introduced me to Suzanne Lamar, the executive producer of Page Sage, a multimedia company that creates
instructional DVDs featuring some of the craft industry’s top artists. Page Sage debuted its newest DVD, Art Unscripted, hosted by Carol Duvall and featuring the company’s roster of artists sharing the creative process.

                    
                            Jen with crafts maven Carol Duvall

I’ve always been a crafty person. As a child, I was forever writing and illustrating books. My stash of art supplies exploded when I got basic cable and discovered HGTV. One of my favorites is The Carol Duvall Show.

So when Suzanne enlisted Sarah Hodsdon, a talented mixed-media artist, as her partner-in-crafting-crime to get me on stage with Carol Duvall during a live event on the CHA stage, I was thrilled.  Carol graciously hosted the celebrity craft challenge. Twelve artists were split into four teams and given the task of transforming wooden mannequins (aka Art Mann) into a work of art. The catch? Artists were given 10- minute intervals to quickly create, then hand off to the next teammate. These creative souls (me dubiously included) were crafting for their lives! Think crafting meets Iron Chef. 

                   

My team, comprised of Sarah, Kathy Cano Murillo (aka The Crafty Chica), and mixed-media artist Chris Cozen, rocked. Paint was messily applied, glitter flew, and tags were stamped fast and furiously. Things got a little out of hand at one point when artists began stealing each other’s supplies.

In the end, Suzanne did what any savvy producer would do: declared all teams winners. The event was the highlight of my trip. I can’t wait to scrapbook photos of me crafting alongside Carol Duvall.

(For my favorites of CHA, visit my blog at www.getrealscrapbooking.com)

Links:
www.pagesage.com

www.sarah-n-dipitous.typepad.com/sarahndipitous

www.craftychica.com

www.chriscozenartist.com


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