Author: Faith

I Heart Art: CW Roelle

N’s main passion is music. And when it comes to presents nothing makes him happier than unwrapping a tidy stack of CD-shaped objects. But sometimes I like to mix it up and give him something other than CDs.

I had seen Rhode Island artist CW Roelle‘s work on Tiny Showcase but missed out on getting a piece. But artistry and craftsmanship of what he does really stuck with me. And so I contacted him a few months ago to see if he would be interested in creating a piece for me to give to N for Christmas. I asked CW to make a wire drawing of a praying mantis, a critter which N had a fondness for as a child.

This is the finished piece:
I’m very pleased with how it turned out. The details captured in the bends and folds of the wire are amazing. I think the style really captures the alien strangeness of the mantis. It’s kind of hard to see from this picture, but the mantis is set back about half an inch from the frame and so there’s a nice depth to the piece. I wanted to make sure it was protected from dust and toddlers knocking about and so I had it framed in a shadow box.

You can see more pictures of CW’s work on his flickr page here. It includes listings of currently available work if you’re interested. I really like this one in particular. It’s called, “You Are Sleeping And There Are Dogs In The Park You Know.” I think it’s great.

Shrieky McShriekington

The last few days have been rough.


E is teething really hard and has been really irritable for the last four days or so. At least I’m assuming he’s teething. In addition to being ornery and shrieking or crying at the drop of a hat (or at me daring to tell him no, he cannot play with that glass bowl/permanent marker/expensive stereo/sharp knife) he has been trying to chew on everything in sight. A few times he’s actually stuffed his fingers in his mouth and gnawed on them, something he’s never done before.

I’m just not use to it and it’s wearing me out. Sometimes he’ll be fine for 20, 30 minutes and I’ll be lulled into thinking he’s feeling better but then something will set him off and he’ll rocket from placid to wailing in a second. I’m hoping that it’s just his teeth bothering him and it’s not that after 14 months of being easygoing he’s simply decided it would be more fun to be a jerk.

I am really looking forward to N being home for the weekend so we can tag team the little howler.

Paraphernalia Necklace

Meet Captain Haddock, pirate.

N gave me this Paraphernalia necklace as a Christmas gift and I’ve been wearing it every chance I get. I like the 19th-century style of the illustration and how it’s whimsical without being cutesy.

I hadn’t heard of Paraphernalia before but now I’m really enjoying her aesthetic. Her pieces range from the strange to the delicate. You can see all of them here. Some of them are pretty huge and larger than something I would wear but there are a few I have my eye on including this one, this one, and especially this one.

Table Toppers

I am a big fan of these. I don’t consider myself a germaphobe but the idea of E eating directly off the table at some of the restaurants we frequent (like the slightly dodgy Ethiopian place we went to on Friday) grosses me out. So I carry these with me.

They’re a good size and have adhesive strips at the top and bottom that allow them to stick to the table pretty well. E is then free to eat his finger foods and I don’t have to worry about him knocking a plate to the floor. When he’s done I just pull the whole thing up and throw it away on my way out.

Amazon has them in a couple of different package sizes and patterns, but the price usually works out to about 50 cents a placemat.

***Update***
I saw that Target carries these now.

Letter: Month Fourteen

Dear E,

Today you turn fourteen months old. It has been a busy, crazy, lovely month. This winter started out abnormally warm but the 6+ snowstorms we’ve had in the last few weeks have more than made up for it.

You’ve never liked being cold (a surprise, I know!) and so far you haven’t shown an affinity for the snow. But maybe that will change. Your Aunt Miranda gave you a toddler-sized sled for Christmas and we’re going to break it in this week.

It was really fun to watch you experience Christmas for the first time. (I’m not counting last year because you were pretty much just a blob then–a cute blob, but a blob nevertheless.) You LOVED our Christmas tree. You insisted on “helping” decorate the tree and were as gentle as you could be. It was very endearing.

For Christmas your dad and I gave you mostly books, but I did succumb and get you a little ride-on train. You love it in all of its garishly-bright plastic glory.

You really improved at walking this month and now you take five or six steps at a time. I love it when you launch yourself, giggling like crazy, into my arms. Lately you enjoy putting things away into baskets, clapping, and sharing your snacks with us.

You are, simply put, a marvel.

Love,

Mama

Project: Cutting Boards

So in the fall I decided to make some cutting boards to give as Christmas presents. As is usual when it comes to my woodworking projects I grossly underestimated the time and effort it would take. (So please forgive me if you’re family and you didn’t get a board! I ended up with fewer than I had planned.)


Overall I was quite happy with how they turned out. They’re made out of walnut, cherry, and maple and are put together with the end grain facing up. Because they’re made on the end-grain, I couldn’t run them through the planer to even out the surface because it would have chipped them like crazy. So there was A LOT of sanding involved (way, WAY too much sanding). But I think it was worth it in the end.

End grain cutting boards are more durable than normal boards because it’s the hardest edge of the wood. They’re also easier on your knives because the blades will slip in between the wood fibers like in between the bristles of a paintbrush and so to a certain extent they’re self-healing. I used glue that’s been FDA-approved as food safe and finished them with several coats of mineral oil.

(By the way, if you have a wooden cutting board that’s looking dry or thrashed you can sand the surface with a light grit sandpaper and then rub on a couple coats of mineral oil (available at drug stores in the, um, laxative section) and it should really refresh it.)

I’m getting excited about this upcoming semester of woodworking class. It starts at the end of the month and my good friend Kristin is going to take the class with me which will be very fun. I’m planning on making some small boxes because I want to improve my joinery skills and also have the chance to work with some exotic woods which I can only afford to buy in small quantities. My goal is to have detail plans drawn up before class starts which should cut down on class time wasted waffling over dimensions and such.

P.S. – Oh, and to those of you who received a cutting board, remember that if you put it in the dishwasher I will HUNT YOU DOWN. Happy new year! xoxo.

New Year Navel-Gazing

I love celebrating the new year. It’s not so much the parties and such, but I like reflecting on the past year and thinking about what I want to accomplish in the coming year. So, here are some of my goals for 2009 (in no particular order).

  1. Become a better cook and learn some good dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free recipes for E’s sake.
  2. Finish organizing/decorating my house (after living in it for 4+ years!) and then keep it tidier.
  3. Exercise regularly and get in better shape (Come on, America! We can do it!)
  4. Help E grow into a well-adjusted, happy toddler.
  5. Improve my woodworking skills.
  6. Improve my photography skills.
  7. Keep in better touch with friends and family.
  8. Grow in spirituality.
  9. Save more money.
  10. Floss regularly all year long instead of mainly for the month leading up to my next cleaning (Hmm…too much info? Probably!)

How about you? Any goals for the coming year?

How I Met Your Mother

N. found this photo from the study abroad trip to Korea we went on back in the summer of 1999. It cracks me up: I like the sassy thumbs-up N’s flashing but I’m not sure why I’m making that weird smirk.

It’s funny; it wasn’t until the last night of the trip that we even really talked to each other. We had even been in the same Korean classes the year before the trip but we still barely knew each other. For most of the trip I was pining after one guy and spending all of my free time hanging out with another, neither of whom was N. (Yeah, I was just a touch boy-crazy at the time.) N seemed cool but was kind of intimidating at the time.

Details of how we got together will have to wait for another time; today I don’t really feel like typing a long post. For right now let’s just say that things managed to work out in the end.