more birthday love...

happy birthday to my sister.

you make me laugh and i love you.
like, a lot.

lot's of very important birthdays this month!
craft blogging will resume as usual tomorrow when i can actually share what i made for her...
for now i can't ruin the suspense.

xo,meggers

birthday loves.

happy birthday to my dear, long distance friend

for all the years, the pagliacci pizzas and the love,
you are the best friend anyone could ask for.

thank you for being born.

xo,meggers

eeeek!

after these past few days of stress with health, doctors appointments and work the mr. and i decided we deserved a treat!

so i threw out all reason and bought this!

i am so excited i can hardly breathe!
i have never spent this much money on an item this massive,
but i'm ready to lock myself in the basement and print until my hands bleed.
who's in?

the mr. chose the manliest gift of all for himself–
surround sound.

{as if we didn't already have enough speakers}

so as i patiently await my new arrival we're stuck in the house
setting up his new toy.
thank you best buy guy who said it would be super easy to hook it up.

last time i checked it shouldn't have taken from 11pm to 4am...
to find out it's all wrong.
fail.

while i barely got anything done today on my to-do list
i did get that big something that was on my lifetime to-do list
so i can't be too upset!

in case you didn't pick up on it already..
I. AM. EXCITED.

and broke.

xo,meggers

p.s. mom, dad, you might be getting an extremely large package on your porch in 5-7 days.
sorry. :)

superb

off to work!
i'll be working on more owl pillows as well as some other designs tonight.
i'm on a pillow craze!

tomorrow i'm heading to king's books for their annual letterpress and book art event, wayzgoose!
it's open to everyone and it's FREE!!!
check out the details here.

hope you're all enjoying a little bit of sunshine.
have a great weekend!

xo, meggers

reality

it's hard to focus when a loved one is having health issues.
{i'm thankful it's not life or death}
but it still wreaks havoc when it comes around.

the last couple days have been a little stressful.
doctors visits.
new prescriptions.
trial and error.
it's exhausting and scary.

all i wanted to do was create something happy and fuzzy
to distract from the worry.
so i came home last night and laid out all the fabric i owned.

what could i make that would help us smile?

i started cutting and rearranging fabric until i got inspired.
i accidentally made what looked like and owl shape and decided to go with it.
i *love* animal pillows.
like love, love them.
so i went with it.
++and now i officially can't stop++

i went to the craft store and bought every remnant they had
and a metric ton of stuffing.

if this doesn't cheer us up, i don't know what will.


p.s. it already has.

xo,meggers

little gems

if you have an iphone i highly recommend purchasing this app.

it does take some time and patience to get used to it but
i bought it the other day and haven't looked back.

i even broke my rule about not buying upgrades for apps
(because i think it's ridiculous)
and bought every film type and every lens they had for sale!
{it was worth it}

here are just a few of the images i took around the house tonight.



pretty neat.


tonight i also received an incredibly sweet card from some wonderful friends.
i never (ever) doubt that i have the support of my family and friends,
but it was so great to get this little out of the blue token of support.

thank you kate&joe!

xo,meggers

slacking in the name of art..

i was supposed to clean out our junk closet today to make room for all my art supplies....

yikes!
{intentionally blurry to save your eyes}

but....

instead i got distracted by all my pretty fabric paints
and decided to do more screen prints :)

first layer down
all of these are at various points of completion
i also started my owl screen!
i was procrastinating on this one because it's going to take many layers of mod podge to make this baby print clean lines
normally i wouldn't encourage such fine lines with homemade screens unless you have a lot of patience
{which i don't}
but i really like this design so i'm sticking with my goal

this is how it looks after the first layer

you can see a lot of areas where i will have to go back with my teeny tiny paint brush and the glue to thin the print lines.

it will look pretty neat on some tea stained pillows and towels when it's done, though.

and.....

if all goes well i should be breaking ground on my indieTACOMA website this week.
if it weren't for a couple brilliant friends i would have been lost in internet la-la land with no website to be found.

i know some really amazing people.

xo,meggers

regan design.

we're making some t-shirts...

like, soon.

i'm not even sure where we're planning on selling them yet,
but we'll get to that.
locally? online? yes, both?
input?

i wanted to share a couple designs that i started.
as always, they are in raw form and may or may not be what we end up printing.

but nonetheless...
i should have some of rory's designs up in a few days when we get around to talking about anything other than fart jokes.
{we can't help it}
we are not the poster children for maturity.

i'm not quite sure who let us be in charge of running a business together,
but sometimes i wonder how we even dress ourselves in the morning.
xo,meggers

oops!

i guess i took a little blog vacation.

not intentional, of course.

my mind has been twisted and wrapped around so many 'to-do's' i can't remember what i'm supposed to be doing.

i've found it very meditative to start drawing everyday.
i used to do it all the time, but sometimes life can get in the way.
i think i'll use some of these to get back into watercolor painting.
i found some really awesome paintings floating around the internet and i got inspired.
i haven't used this medium in a very, very long time.
and even then it was for various art classes and not because i wanted to be using them.
they're difficult!
{not unlike me}

i'm just going to dive in.
what's the worst that could happen, right?

my indieTACOMA project is moving along!
it's all happening so fast and with relative ease,
but i'm not as scared or frantic about it as i thought i would be.

wait until i set the date of the first show and have to go through all the vendor applications.
i'll probably be singing a different tune. :)

i took a couple shots of the venue where the craft show will be.
quality is low because of the silly iphone camera, but you get the picture.

looking toward the back of the speakeasy

from the stairs to the front of the venue.
this space is great.
open and airy with tons of natural light.
if all goes well we'll probably be using half of the upper section for vendors as well.
my initial goal was 25 artist, but it may be possible to fit more than 30.
that would be pretty neat.

actually, this is all pretty neat.

xo,meggers

cat's outta the bag...

alright, after days of making sure everything is set in stone
i'm finally ready to share my dream come true with you!

for a long time i've been waiting and wanting tacoma to start up a monthly craft fair.
{but it never happened}
it was frustrating because there is so much talent here in the city and not many regularly available places to sell and display work.

until now!

i've teamed up with tacoma's speakeasy arts cooperative to start a monthly craft fair for tacoma artist to sell their creations and the greater public to enjoy.

it's been an amazing experience so far,
but i still have a ways to go!
i probably should have waited to share, but if i had to hold it in any longer i would have lost my mind!

it's called indieTACOMA arts & crafts.

it has been an amazing experience so far if only because i have met so many enthusiastic, supportive and creative people who want to see this work.
if you haven't heard of/ been to the speakeasy art co-op i recommend you check it out.
(both in person and online)
www.speakeasyartscooperative.com

the fees for an artist to join are incredibly low and the opportunity to share your work is abundant.
i'm so happy i stumbled upon this great opportunity to work with like-minded people.

i hope everyone can share in the excitement of bridging the gap between tacoma's talent and the people who can appreciate hard work.

this is going to be huge!!!
{i hope!}

my mind, body and soul are completely focused on getting this off the ground so that i can focus more on my handmade projects.

i never expected everything to happen this quickly,
but i'm not fighting it.

i'll do my best to regularly update with my projects as i go,
but i will also be talking about iTAC here until the website is up and running.

i'm so happy to finally share with you all!
it feels good to share. :)

xo,meggers

this little brain...

is working overtime!!

although i'm not quite ready to divulge my secret yet i can tell you i had an insanely productive meeting on monday.

i have my work cut out for me!

i can tell you i registered a new trade name and bought my very first domain name.

{don't worry i will let you in on this very soon}

i haven't taken this many notes in... well, ever.

productive? i'd say so.

after one more meeting tomorrow i will feel 100% confident that everything is set in stone.

so, until then...

xo,meggers

p.s. i just added an about me page which i'm pretty excited about. the link is on the left under the blog header!

shhhh.. it's a secret.

today i'm meeting with a couple of great people in hopes of starting a h.u.g.e. project.

it's our little secret right now,
but just wait until i spill the beans!

more on it very soon!


happy monday!

xo,meggers

quick things n' stuff.

i have been screen printing my brains out!

{i can't get enough of it}
but i still have a lot of work to do so this is going to be a quick one!

it's been a really exciting week in mail-getting for me.

first off i finally got my holga.
i've been so busy trying to finish all these projects i've started
(a huge step for me)
that i haven't even had a chance to fiddle with it.
ugh.
i'll get to it!
and then the next day i got my business license.
i'm legit!
{at least in the state of washington}i don't know which one is more exciting.
i'm pretty happy when i get stuff.

lastly i cannot wait for you to meet a good friend of mine.
her name is colleen.
she is the most amazing entrepreneur you'll ever meet.
i've learned and been inspired so much from her and now i want you to have that opportunity as well!

i'll be interviewing her this month and talking about what it took for her to get to where she is today.
trust me, you'll want to be here for this.
off to lose myself in some crafting!

easy screen printing d.i.y. part two!

5. practice run

okay, so the glue is completely dry...
[it should be clear with absolutely no white spots}
now we need to see if the screen works!

lay your screen on a flat surface with a piece of paper under it.
using a very small amount of ink (we're talking quarter size!) spread it around with your brush on a washable surface or something you can throw away.
{i like using tupperware lids because paint easily washes off}
weigh down your screen so it doesn't slip while your painting on the ink.
i just used the mod podge bottle because it was heavy :)
now start painting!
remember you can always do another coat (carefully) so don't overdue it with the ink.
i tried a few different portions of ink so trust me when i say less is more!
now you have your test print!
slowly, with steady hands peel off the screen so you don't smudge the paint around...
and voila!
do you like it? are there spots you missed?
if so, rinse the screen with warm water and dry with a paper towel.
then you can go back and paint more glue as necessary.
repeat until your desired effect is mastered.


6. the real deal

alright let's prepare our fabric for printing!

make sure you're using a clean, dry and flat surface.
if your fabric has layers (like a t-shirt) place cardboard directly behind the layer where you will be printing.
if it's a single layer you should still have some barrier between the fabric and the surface.
{messes happen! take it from the master.}

set out everything you need in front of you to make it as simple as possible.
including paper towels just in case!

{i'm doing headbands first}

lay your fabric with barrier as flat as possible.
no bumps, lumps or folds anywhere in sight.

lay your screen down onto the fabric and position it where you want it.
play around with the positioning until it feels right.
now we're going to repeat everything we did with the practice print except this time put your game face on.
(i already printed a couple color layers on before which is why there's an image already on my fabric)
again, peel the screen off sllloooowwwwly with both hands so you don't smudge and there you have it-
a one-of-a-kind screen printed item!
remember to always rinse off your screen after you use it so you can use it again and again!
also read the instructions on your fabric paint carefully.
most paints allow machine washing.
enjoy!

{if you have any questions about the process feel free to ask!}

xo,meggers

p.s.

i fixed my comment settings (which i didn't realize until just now were not working)

sorry if you tried to post comments and it denied you.
{it wasn't my fault!}

so now feel free to comment away about nothing or every thing.

xo,meggers

easy screen printing d.i.y. part one!

{let's get started!!}

supplies you'll need:
*embroidery hoop* make sure it's big enough so your design isn't cramped around the edges
*gauze fabric* any sheer white fabric will work, but keep in mind the smaller the holes the better the print.
*fabric paint* screen printing ink can be pricey so for smaller projects like this any fabric paint will work just fine.
*water resistant glue* i used mod podge, but there are many out there.
*a sharp pencil* for tracing your design. i use mechanical pencils because they are always sharp.
*sponge brushes* enough so you can have some for painting the glue on and some for the ink.
*your stencil* the less detail the better so you don't have a hard time creating the screen.
*blank paper* to test your screen on when it's done. better to be safe than sorry!

1. choose your design:
a lot of computer programs give you the option of resizing your images (including microsoft word) and making an image all black.
make your image the proper size for your embroidery hoop and print it out in black.
you have just made your stencil design!

2. assemble your screen:
stretch your gauze over the inner hoop of the embroidery hoop and press the outer hoop firmly on top.
as you tighten the screw pull the gauze taut all around the edges.
make sure t0 screw it in as tight as you can and continue pulling the fabric until it is tight and flat.


now trim off the excess gauze.


3. trace your stencil:
flip your hoop around so the flat gauze is closest to the table.
tape down your design to the table and place the screen over the top.
don't press too hard with your pencil while you trace the design onto the screen.
it's important that you only trace what you want to be printed.


4. apply the glue
after you have traced all your black lines flip the hoop over so the flat gauze is farthest away from your table.
paint the mod podge on all the areas where you DO NOT want your ink to print.
that's called the negative space.
you can use a sponge or a paint brush- whatever your comfortable with as long as you get a good cover all over the screen.
this can get messy so be sure to put down some newspaper to avoid drips.
take your time and make sure it's done right!
read the label on the glue to make sure you let it dry long enough.
mine said 15 mins, but because the surface is so large i would recommend 12- 24 hours.



for part 2 i will be showing you how to prep and print your design onto fabric.
i'll be doing scarves and headbands, but you can use whatever you want.
t-shirts are always a good choice! :)

stay tuned! i'll be back soon for part 2!

xo,meggers

extra sleepy, extra excited

i'm so excited for my screen printing tutorial tomorrow!
it's going to be great!
and so easy anyone can do it at home.

i'm also excited because i should be getting this little beauty in the mail any day now!(source)

i have been waiting rather impatiently for my holga for about a week now and i just want it to be here!
i also bought a 35mm converter for it in case i can't find 120n film or a local place to develop it.

i'll probably be going picture crazy for awhile as i also recently found my minolta x-370 and managed to inherit one of either an old nikon manual or a canon manual.
(one goes to me one goes to a friend)
as far as i can tell they are so similar it's an awesome deal anyway you cut it.


(source)

next project?
turn our closet into a dark room.
the mister might need to find somewhere else to keep his pants and socks. :)

xo,meggers