Budapest

I've been living the life of a Hungarian in the beautiful city of Budapest for the past ten days. Wow, I love the feel of a European city. New York is great, but it doesn't have the history found in Europe. Every building has something to look at, be it some sort of emblem, or a scene of Roman gladiators fighting- it's all there if you look for it. I'm still sleep deprived, but it was all worth it.

Last Chance

Thank you all for the wonderful response to the swap! I've been busy with life in general and haven't been able to post much, but I want to let everyone know that this is the last chance. I will be pairing up swappers tonight, so if you are interested in joining the swap please email me before 6pm eastern time.

Riverside Park

One of the special qualities I love about NYC is that there are many hidden places you can go that are calm and quiet and make you feel like you are not in one of the biggest cities in the world. This is the 91st street garden that is beautiful year round. Joggers, bikers, and walkers use this path throughout the day so it is also a good location to people-watch. I love to sit on a bench and relax and draw. You may also recognize this location because it was a scene in "You've Got Mail". You can see the Hudson River and New Jersey through the trees (not in this shot) and the one reminder that you are in the city is the Amtrack train line that runs underneath this path.

112 and Broadway

I was thinking about living in New York City, and how I don't post many pictures of just being in the city. I take it for granted that I can jump on the subway and go to Soho, Chelsea, Nolita, Harlem, and even Brooklyn;) So I thought I would start to post photos of nice views that I see from random New York City corners. This is the view that you see facing east when you are on the corner of 112th and Broadway. Isn't the Cathedral amazing? As you can imagine it is much more breathtaking in person. It is also a good location because there is a Pinkberry a few steps away.

It's all about the Matryoshka

I received my dolls from Abbey and they are fantastic. Everyone did great work. I'm so glad that I motivated and was able to participate. You can see all of the dolls on flickr.
More groups Silent Dreamer, Studio Tau, Vert Pistache
Bowdenisms (mine is the big one), Bricolagelife

Three Dolls

A print I created in yesterday's class. We were doing basic foam printing, and one of the students used a little too much paint. I loved how her white on brown print turned out, so I decided to use her extra paint to create a white on red print...or triple print I should say.

Summer Sac Swap

Okay ladies (and gentlemen) drum roll please…. I have decided to do a swap, so I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that it will be embraced by the masses. You may live in or be visiting places that other swappers are dreaming of and would love to go to. Why not collect stuff for someone else so that they can live vicariously?

1. Construct a Sack/Bag to hold treasures. This can be a simple as a brown bag with drawings or a more intricate sewn bag. It could be a spice sack from Marrakech or a beautiful Japanese fabric made up into a bag.
2. Sack contains things from cities you visit during the summer or from place you live. Items may include: Photographs, maps, postcards, trinkets, menus, business cards, ephemera, rocks, shells, sticks, pressed flowers, fabric, beads, sketches you have drawn…You all get the idea. It’s kind of like a treasure hunt for your swapper- find them interesting things for inspiration.

This is fun and supposed to be a way to put together a fun collection of things throughout the summer. There are two important dates: September 2 is the date you should have everything finished and be posting photos in the Flickr group. September 8 is the send-off date. By mid-September each of us will receive a sack of goodies to jump start the fall, and time when we are beginning to think about the holiday gift making- okay maybe not that soon…but soon enough. Here are the Rules...

1. At no time may you stress about this swap. If you feel you need to stress, then go find a little trinket or rock to put in your swapper’s sack.
2. The summer sack is a container that holds lots of goodies. I want the creator to decide what it is all about, the only requirement is that you can honestly describe it as one of the best gifts you have ever given, and the maker has to want it so much themselves that it is very difficult to send to their swapper.

If this sounds like the swap for you, send an email to pixiewinkle@gmail.com with the following information:

1. Name, Address, Email, Blog
2. Where will you visit/live this summer?
   
3. List the top three places you wish you could travel to this summer.
4. What are your favorite colors?
5. What type of creativity projects do you do?
6. Other things your swapper might like to know about you.
   
7. Your sign.

The last day of sign up is June 16. No extensions because I will be off to travel the world (not really, but it sounds nice;)

My Little Felt Pouch

I know it's been awhile since I've last posted, but here's a little something for inspiration. I was a part of the Functional Felt Swap where each participant had to craft a felt something or other for their swapper. This is what I came up with. I was inspired by the below artwork that I saw in the Anthropologie gallery at the Rockefeller Center, so I decided to try to construct a flower. I wish I knew how to felt from scratch because it would have made my flower that more interesting, but I'll just add "learning to felt" to my long list of things to do in my life!
I love seeing everyone's finished projects, and I have to say that I'm glad to be a part of the "finished" group. Hope my swapper likes her pouch.