Inspired Image: Abby Try Again

Picking up where I left off two weeks ago, here is the second installment of Inspired Image. This will run every Friday until we get tired of it! To recap, this is where I let another blogger, crafter, artist, designer or friend choose an image that speaks to them. Along with it, they will answer a short Q&A so we know why they love the picture. This week, we have the very talented photographer Abby.

Hello my name is Abby Powell Thompson.

You can find me at abbytrysagain.com

This image comes from a vintage snapshot from my friend Cori's collection.

It inspires me because it reminds me that I should have more fun! I love that it is shot in a beautiful field and the little bike just makes me laugh.

I particularly love that it looks like a still from an old movie.

It makes me feel like spring is just around the corner!

The 3 words it conjures up are carefree, sunshine and silly!


Have a great weekend!

Organic Jewelry

I may have mentioned in passing that part of me dreams of either working on or somehow being part of an organic farm. (Hmm...something to consider now that I'm in the market for a new job!) I am very interested in sustainable agriculture and I have a ton of respect for the people who are actually doing it because it's seriously hard work. I first saw these earrings, which are by a company named River Song, at the New York Gift Show in January. It was started by River Burke, who lives outside of Seattle, during a winter break from organic farming. She does an impressive job at capturing the different moods of nature and I love that she says that she sees the "jewelry we wear as an expression of our human uniqueness, our relationships and our pleasure". I love thinking of jewelry from that perspective. Make sure you head to her site to look at the necklaces—they are really lovely.

(and thank you all for the very warm welcome back!)

Homemade Tote Bag

One of the things I'm planning to do this year (in addition to baking all of the granola I eat and starting a quilting project that I intent to keep for myself) is to sew myself a bag. I have very basic sewing skills (and call my friend Katherine whenever I get stuck in a bad place with my bobbin!), but I think I'm going to try a bag like this one made by Michelle of Cicada Daydream. (She actually designed the green fabric as well, which she sells in her Etsy shop as part of her Mod Quad collection.) She made the majority of the bag from a fat quarter, which sounds so simple that I already believe I can pull this project off! Since I've been so resourceful with using up the leftover fabric in my stash for projects like my blog banner and the current quilt I'm working on, I'm going to see if I can make it to Purl Patchwork over the weekend. I'll let you know if I find some good fabric options!

Also, if any of you are working on craft projects or have a delicious recipe that you'd like to share, please email me at thingswemake at gmail dot com. I'd love to be able to post some of your ideas as well!

Dreaming of Spring

Oh snow. So if you're in the northeast (or the south from what I hear) I'm sure you're very familiar with the sentiment. I mean it both to say "Isn't winter supposed to be over by now?!?" and "Oh snow, it's just so delightful and pretty when I don't have to be outside in the freezing cold." I was looking through my Etsy favorites today hoping to find a bit of inspiration and I remembered that I'd stuck LilyMoon in there a few weeks ago. And this tree, which captures the magical feeling of the start of spring, spoke to me, for obvious weather-related reasons, but also because of the dream-like sentiment of the style. I love that the tagline of the site is "make believe" and it comes through her designs, which she prints on paper, journals, canvas and even buttons and pendants.
But here's the real reason why that sentiment stuck with me today: I was at a family wedding over the weekend and I was carrying a small carpet bag-esque clutch. My sister complimented me on it, which made me realize that I think it came from the stash of clothes and accessories we used when we played dress up. It made me so happy to think that she and I seem to have grown into the very women we pretended to be years ago. To which I say, keep on making believe!

And we're back!

Welcome to the new home of Things We Make, I'm so glad to have you here. After a brief hiatus following last week's close of the Hallmark Magazine, this is where I'll continue my blog. The format will mostly be the same since I enjoyed how things were going, though you can expect some surprises down the road as I see what works best for me here. I plan to follow this rough schedule:
Mondays- weekend recap with a crafting or food project from my life
Tuesdays- a profile of a printed matter artist or photographer
Wednesday- an original craft project from myself, a crafty friend, or another blog
Thursday- a profile of a jewelry or accessory designer
Friday- Inspired Image (if you missed my first post on this a week or so ago, get excited for Fridays and make sure to check back to see what this means!)

As always, I'd love to hear about craft projects you may be doing, artists you find that you want to share or answer any questions you might have about what I'm up to. I hope that this becomes a place we can inspire each other to do what makes us happy—which for me often means surrounding myself with pretty handmade things and the people who make them. See you tomorrow!

PS. I'm working on getting my archives over here, so the site might look a little different once they get here and things move around a bit.