Category Archives: tips

Fonts 101

Posted on by
7

Ever want to add a new font to use in your designs? It’s really easy – here’s how. These directions are for Windows but I can do a Mac version later if you like.

If I’m looking for a new fort for a particular project (or just for fun) I start at Fontspace. Lots of designers contribute to it and you’ll see fonts from beautiful to weird.

fontspace1I found one I like called Wallflower.

fontspace2I clicked on the Download button (be careful here to click the correct arrow because sometimes ads for software slip their download links in and you end up with something you didn’t want – ads are the way fontspace keeps it free)

fontspace3You font will download as a Zipped file:

fontspace4When you see it in the window, double-click on it.

fontspace5A page will open with every letter and variation of the font – and if you look at the top, there’s an “Install” button.

fontspace6And, voila! The next time you open a word document or a program like Illustrator, it will be available for you to choose from in your font list!

fontspace7Happy Fonting!

 

Mala and Prayer Flag Workshop

Posted on by
Reply

There are several spots left in Sunday’s workshop – it should be low key and relaxing. We’re creating Wrist Malas for quiet meditation and Prayer Flags to celebrate spring and rebirth. I had the funny experience yesterday of trying to video myself making a wrist mala. It didn’t work very well, but here are some excerpts from the process. Making the mala, however, was a wonderful exercise in quiet concentration, counting and joining the beads, winding the tassel 21 times, tying it all together. If you’d like to join the workshop this Sunday from 3-5, send me an email. Just bring yourself – I’ll have everything you need to work with, including a shell to hold your Mala.

Sunday Pass-along: A Manifesto

Posted on by
Reply

pod1I am sitting here at my desk trying to remember what the heck my Evernote password is (and what I was even going to look for in Evernote) when I came across this link I’d saved to a Blog called Inspired Home Office by Jen Hofmann.

This is her most popular post – read it and you’ll see why. Here’s the link:
A Manifesto for Cluttered Creatives – and here’s my favorite excerpt (the whole thing is great):

 

I have a right to a sacred space
that is free from intrusions
that is free from guilt
that completely supports my spirit
that is truly sacred space
powerful as an ancient circle of standing stones

Right on!

Friday Freebie: Faces!

Posted on by
3

I just unloaded the kiln and – whoopee! – it was a most successful firing, thanks to the kiln gods 🙂 To celebrate that (and Friday), this week’s Friday Freebie is a pair of unfinished faces, one white, one terra cotta. You can use these for pendants, for spirit dolls, or just to put in a pretty bowl on your desk with a drop of essential oil. All blog subscribers are in the drawing, name to be drawn before the stroke of midnight.

FYI, When I don’t have a friend around to draw a name, I use a online random number generator. It’s also the way I select the order for my my students’ presentations in class. Digital equal opportunity! I’ll be around most of the day at the Studio tomorrow – if you’re in town, drop in and say hello-

PS – Speaking of Spirit Dolls, I opened a second Spirit Doll workshop on March 24th! It’s not full yet, so sign up and celebrate spring with a cool soft-sculpture creation.

fff

 

Friday freebie

Posted on by
1

Well, it’s a free tip, anyway – this is an instant spa treatment for dirty hands. Mine are always covered in paint or dirt from the garden. Here’s whatcha do (and you probably have everything right by the kitchen sink) – put a spoonful of sugar in your palm, add six or eight squirts of hand lotion, then without using water, scrub and rub your hands together for about a minute. Rinse well with warm water, dry with towel, and voila! You won’t believe how clean and soft your hands are. Try it and share this tip with all your dirty-handed friends 🙂

 

Workshops update

Posted on by
Reply

I just realized the early winter workshop brochure didn’t have the new studio info on it, so here’s the New Improved Version. There are three spaces left for the first workshop on Sunday, Jan 20th from 3-5, Making Earthenware Adornments, so if you want to sign up for that one, you can help me test drive the new space. I think it will be fun to have so much room. There’s a PayPal button to reserve a space,or just email me for any other arrangement.

Turning face shards into fabulous jewels at Ann Pearce's during the second half of the workshop

Turning face shards into fabulous jewels at Ann Pearce’s during the second half of the Earthenware Adornments workshop last fall

Boxing Day Challenge

Posted on by
1

Today, December 26th, is Boxing Day in England where I spent part of my childhood (our father was stationed at Ruislip Base in London for five years). There are all kinds of reasons why it’s called that – giving boxes of Christmas goodies to service workers is one – but I’m going to give you a challenge instead. I decided I wanted to learn how to make a new kind of paper box, and this little mulberry-paper container the result. Simple, right? Not. Even with the video, it’s tricky. See if you can do it. It took me a couple of tries to figure out that x#@% last part.

Origami paper box

Origami paper box

PS The person’s hands in the video are impossibly smooth – I think it’s a plastic robot, personally 🙂

Link address to copy if you want to save it – http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-box-with-paper/

Quick gift you can make

Posted on by
5

These cosalts2ol bath salts are one of the examples I show in my aromatherapy classes (see the site at Chemaroma.com ). My biochemist friend Dr. Bill Kurtin knows all of the reasons essential oils work scientifically, but you can do this project without knowing any chemistry – whew :). You’ll need some Epsom Salts, some essential oil (Sprouts, Central Market, Whole Foods) and some lunch bags. You can make these for less than a dollar each and they smell wonderful and work great on sore muscles or stressed out psyches. You can store them in your linen closet to make the towels smell fresh. Easy, cheap and nice – there ya have it.

Here’s a video I made for our aromatherapy class site that explains the how-to. Think hostess gifts and stocking stuffers. You can even toss a small handful of the salts into your shower and get the therapeutic effects of the essential oils without soaking!

I ♥ hardware stores

Posted on by
Reply

I went to Harbor Freight yesterday to see if they had gotten in more of their canvas drop cloths – what a find. My friends Chip and Jane told me about these – beautiful heavy canvas for stretching on stretchers (or just using loose) to use as a painting surface. The price is right, too – a 4 by 12’ heavy canvas panel for less than ten dollars or 9×12′ for $15.

While I was there, the aluminum tape caught my eye – probably a lot of people know about that stuff, but I had a great time playing around with it. You can crumple it, paint over it, scratch it – great possibilities. In these examples I used black marker, transparent acrylic, and acrylic ink and rubbed it over the surface, then buffed it off. Next time will check out my neighborhood hardware store and see if they have it there. I’ll definitely be using it on some book covers for Nueva Street Gallery – yay for hardware stores! They even smell good.

foilPS The Baby Bee dish is there just cause it looked nice propping up the examples – no foil used in clay – it would vaporize!