It's been a lovely year.

Although this blog has been less than eventful in recent months, much of my creative focus over the last 366 days was on my daily photo project of 2012: Daily Lovely. I took a photo a day of something lovely, happy, fun and enjoyable in my day. I've always been one to try to notice the little pops of happiness in each day, but this really allowed me to hone in on that skill! I had a great time chronicling my year via Instagram. The project is over but the effect will be lasting on me. Here are a few of my favorites from 2012:


      


Other highlights of this year included:

• Turned 30! So far things keep looking up and I am enjoying this new decade.
• Setting a goal to train and run my first race - then running 3 total by the end of the year! Somehow I was able to make the habit of running stick and I now pull it off consistently several times a week.
• Took an introduction to metalsmithing class and learned how to make jewelry. It was pretty satisfying to get behind the bench and learn the basics to help get a better knowledge of the craft. 
• Read some great books:
• Born Standing Up by the admirable and hilarious Steve Martin - a memoir about his stand-up career and early life in general. It made me love and respect him even more than I already did - and that is saying a lot considering he is my second favorite comedian next to Bill Murray.
• You're Not Doing it Right by Michael Ian Black - another hilarious yet touching insight into the life of another one of my favorite comedians. 
• I Will Teach You to Be Rich by my new financial hero Ramit Sethi. I had seen his guide to automating your finances a long time ago but only started absorbing the rest of his material this year. There is a LOT of information tailored to young adults that is invaluable and written in the most easy to comprehend manner I have seen since I started taking an interest in financial planning after I graduated college. 
• Took an incredible vacation to Bermuda and then told hurricane Leslie to eat my dust.
• Fell in love with thehairpin.com over and over again.
• Kept my fingers crossed that Bill Murray would crash at my place on August 28. He was a no show but we still had a great time watching the best movie ever aka What About Bob.
• Witnessed my first bluegrass live performance by Best Ever Chicken at Rosebud in Davis and can't believe I have been missing out on a ridiculously awesome genre in my life until now.

And lots more. 

Looking forward to 2013 and whatever the year decides to throw at me!

Jewelry Class

For a long time, I have been interested in taking an intro to jewelry making class. Well I finally got around to it last month when I did a quick google search and found a local class taught by Karenna Maraj at her jewelry shop in Belmont. I signed up for an intro to metalworking class that was three 2-hour sessions.

It was great to learn the basics and create a few pieces of my own. Below is a sample of the items I made in each class. It was so fun to get to make some real jewelry by hand and also to admire all of the beautiful jewelry in her shop made by professional jewelers in the area. If you've ever wanted to take a jewelry class, I would highly recommend signing up with Karenna!

National Pickle Day: Make Your Own Pickles!

Today, November 14, is National Pickle Day. While every day is pickle day for some people, today is the official day to celebrate the brined cucumber goodness that is pickles.

In honor of this day, I am sharing with you an easy way to make homemade pickles, WITHOUT traditional labor intensive canning methods. It's really quite simple. I started making my own pickles with the recipe below about one year ago as a nice gift idea for hosts of parties, or for homemade treats for the holidays.
The ingredient list is short, and prep time is quick! And now is the perfect time of year to make a big batch!

There are several non-canning methods you can find online. I adapted my recipe from the website Never Trust a Skinny Baker.

Ingredients:
3 cups distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp of pickling spice
2 cups hot water
2 pounds pickling cucumbers, sliced in spears or discs
1 bunch of chopped fresh dill
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Directions:
Mix vinegar, sugar, salt, and pickling spice in a large, heat-safe bowl. Pour the hot water (I just boiled it in a kettle) over the vinegar mixture, and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.

Chop cucumbers into spears, and divide them into jars (I used pint sized Ball jars which you can find in your local supermarket or hardware store for cheap).

Chop the dill and the garlic, and divide it evenly among your jars, and pour the cooled brine over the cucumbers. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to two weeks, and enjoy!

Boozy Brunch in Boston

Learn all there is to learn about cocktail drinking by day, and have some samples in the process, at the Boozy Brunch book tour stop at Trident Booksellers this week!

On Thursday October 25, author (and friend of mine) Peter Joseph visits Boston to talk about Boozy Brunch: The Quintessential Guide to Daytime Drinking.

The book is packed not only with cocktail recipes, but also a lot of the history behind them, plus some suggested food pairings, and funny quotes from legendary drunkards.

Sound interesting? I know. See you on Thursday!

They're back! Congratulations on your XX/XY New Baby Cards

It had been a while since I had printed my XX/XY chromosome new baby cards. Prompted by an inquiry via Etsy for a bulk order of them, I updated the design, then printed and posted the new lot in the Fraske Designs Etsy Shop. I forgot how much I love these cards!

If you have a science geek living inside of you, and have a hard time finding the perfect new baby card at the drug store, give these a shot!

Fourth Annual Red Nun Music Festival

September 1 is the fourth annual Red Nun Music Festival at the Red Nun Bar and Grill in Chatham, MA. I created the event flyer for Sidewalk Driver who participates in this event each year (here is the flyer from last year). The Red Nun Music Festival benefits local arts organizations.

The lineup includes:
Sean Brennan & Dave Hickey
The Elbows (Rock music for KIDS!)
Tad &; Kate
Marc Pinansky & the Bored of Health
Shango Axe
Township
The Spampinato Brothers
Chris Fitz Band
Sidewalk Driver

 It's pretty much guaranteed to be a good time. Sidewalk Driver + Labor Day Weekend + Cape Cod = Awesometown USA! Go check it out if you are on the Cape! Tickets are $10 online in advance, or $15 at the door.

Boston Handmade Somerville Marketplace 2012

The 2012 Boston Handmade Somerville Marketplace is taking place

THIS Saturday, June 30th! 

Saturday June 30 from 3-7pm in Union Square, Somerville, MA 

rain date: Sunday, July 1st 

 

The 5th Annual Handmade Marketplace features work hand-crafted by New England artists, craftspeople and artisans associated with the artists group, Boston Handmade.

At the 2012 Boston Handmade Marketplace 20+ exhibitors will be showing and selling handmade jewelry, accessories, housewares, art, photography, paper goods, ceramics, glass, and more, along with hands-on craft demonstrations from exhibitors throughout the day, and local arts organizations:
The Common Cod Fiber Guild, the Stitch House, and Creative Union.

There will be LIVE MUSIC at the Marketplace with
The Grownup Noise, Nowhere Lights, and Boston Handmade Member Nancy MacCallum

For a list of exhibitors, click here.

For more information, click here.

Daily Lovely Update

So remember that New Year's Resolution I made to take a photo of something lovely, daily, in 2012? I'm 5 months in and so far so good. Here are some of my recent favorites:

I've enjoyed this project so far. I like to think I have always noticed the little pops of happiness in life, but this is forcing me to take an even closer look, and I think it's been a very positive experience. It's also definitely easier to find the lovely in the nicer weather this time of year. But, nice weather or not, some days are harder than others.

Here's hoping I make it through the rest of the year! Follow the project at www.dailylovely.com.

On Loving Pinterest

I'm seriously enjoying Pinterest.

You know about it by now. A virtual pinboard, Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find online in a visual way. I love having the ability to create a bulletin board of bookmarks vs. a text list in my browser, because after a while, I forget about what I bookmarked in my browser unless I review it often. Even then, it's a list of words that, if not titled descriptively enough, lose their meaning over time, and I forget why I am interested unless I click through. (I realize I could be proactive and organize my bookmarks better).

Pinterest, on the other hand, is a visual system where all I need to do is look at a board I created for a certain category to instantly remember what I bookmarked. I don't need a title for a craft project to jog my memory: a picture of the final result works perfectly.

Pinterest seems to be the most popular among women who are into decorating, crafts, fashion, cooking, or entertaining. Then there are the ladies planning weddings. My goodness, Pinterest is probably one of the best wedding planning tools to come around in a long time.

Me? So far, I am using it mainly to organize craft or home projects I want to try, fashions I wish I had in my closet, food I want to make, books I want to read. I also have a board for my own photographs.

I've definitely taken action on some of my pins. I tried a fabric version of the wallpaper dresser tutorial from my to make board, whipped up a few batches of refrigerator pickles from my to eat board, took some cues on how to cut my hair from my hairstyles board, and bought several books that I have pinned on my to read board.

From a purchasing standpoint, Pinterest is a great wish list tool. It makes it easy to mark a potential purchase and allow yourself to think about it for a while before shopping. At the very least, the item can continue to offer inspiration.

Pinterest is fun! Give it a try! If you would like an invitation, let me know and I'll send one your way.

Already on Pinterest? What's your favorite way to use it? how has it changed your online experience?

ArcWorks in Peabody: Gallery Talk

Installation view of CREATE: The Art and Craft of Boston Handmade

THIS Friday, April 20th, at 6:30pm
Join Jessica Burko and Lynne Parrella for a discussion in the gallery about their artwork and the recent popular resurgence of handmade art and craft in conjunction with the exhibition, CREATE: The Art and Craft of Boston Handmade  at ArcWorks Community Art Center in Peabody, MA 22 Foster Street, Peabody, Mass 01960 

Cinemagraphs

Don't you love cinemagraphs? If you haven't seen them before, they are basically the animated GIF to end all animated GIFs. Here is an example... a moving photograph.

I started seeing them several months ago, showing up on various websites. If you'd like to see more, visit From Me To You for some amazing examples. It might take a while for the pages to load, but your wait will be worth it.

To learn how to make your own, Photo Jojo has a tutorial you can try!

Celebrate National Craft Month with Boston Handmade at the ArcWorks Community Art Center in Peabody

It's time for the first Boston Handmade show of the year! Myself and several other Boston Handmade members are exhibiting this month in Create: The Art and Craft of Boston Handmade to celebrate March being National Craft Month. The exhibit will be on view at ArcWorks Community Art Center in Peabody from March 15 until May 5.

The opening reception is Thursday, March 15 from 6-8pm. Be sure to add it to your calendar of National Craft Month events (even if it's the only one you go to!)

I'll be debuting some photos from my Daily Lovely photo project. Other exhibiting artists are Kerrie Beck, Jessica Burko, Kerry Hawkins, Arthur Halvorsen, Karen Mahoney, Lynne Parrella, and Lucie Wicker.

This is a great chance to see a variety of handmade arts and crafts being made in the Boston area, as well as an opportunity to discover a community art center!