Tammy Gilley Studios

Sleepless in Seattle

 

Actually, I slept quite well in Seattle, but I needed a title for my post.

 

So.  Yes.  We went to Seattle over the weekend.  On the train.  I love taking the train.  It makes a three-hour trip feel like an adventure.

 

We have a really beautiful train station in Portland.  It's in the fringe between our Old Town and Pearl District.  The Pearl is a very trendy urban neighborhood, with lots of boutiques and great restaurants.  It used to be an industrial area, so there are lots of loft condominiums and warehouses converted into office space and artists' studios. 

 

Here I am in the station.  Killing time, waiting for the conductor to yell, "All aboard!"  (which, disappointingly, they don't do).

 

The first thing we did when we got off the train was head straight for Le Panier, my favorite French bakery outside of Paris.  Ah, bliss.

          Fortified by cappucino and macarons, we headed across the cobbled street to Pike Place Market, where we bought the most amazing strawberries and grapefruit.

 

And that was all in our first afternoon! 

Soul Food

 

This is my best Soul Food yet, if I do say so myself, and it's available for pre-order now!

 

Soul Food is more than a kit, more than a zine, more than a pattern, more than a project.  It's a wonderful, crafty combination of all those things, and so much more!

In this edition of Soul Food, you'll receive:

 

The Spring Peep Show Crafty Kit, a sweet little box to store your spring crafty tidbits, to fill with chocolates to give to a friend, or to sit on your desk to make you smile.  You'll receive everything you need to create this little peep show.

 

A sweet little embroidery transfer to get you thinking Spring.

 

Supplies for your Creative Journey...including an assortment of vintage wallpapers in a Spring palette,

 

...a darling sheet of vintage paper scrap...

 

...and a glass-topped tin box of Springtime bling, baubles, and beads for your crafty projects.

 

A professionally printed recipe card, with my original artwork on one side, and hands down, the best recipe on the planet for

And the Soul Food Gazette, chock-full of journaling jumpstarts, poetry, pretty pictures, and lots of happy Springtime thoughts.

Pre-orders are being taken now.  Soul Food will ship the week of March 30th.  Put a little spring in your step, and pre-order your issue of Soul Food over here. 

Peep Show

 

Just a sneaky peep...umm, I mean peak, at what will available for pre-order, beginning tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

More is More

 

I know I've said it before, but in my little pea brain, and to my eye, it's pretty tough to add too much embellishment on a project.  More is more.  More is better.  For me.  You won't find me admiring the sleek lines of contemporary art and the simplicity of minimalist decor.

 

Nope.  It's just not for me.

The more tschotskies, the better.  The more beads, the better.  The more embellishment, the better.

 

More is more.

More is better.

For me.

 

When I'm working on a piece with embellishments, when I feel like it's "done" I'll step away from it for a few hours or a few days.  And when I come back, I invariably find that I could add a titch more here, a tad more there.

More is more.  More is better.

 

I'm working on lesson #2 of my Conversation Hearts class for Joggles.  It's a crazily-quilted heart with tons of embellishment.  I've had a lot of fun with it this weekend.  And although it's listed as a two-hour lesson, I hope my students will head my advice, and "step away from the heart" for a few hours or days, then add more goodies.  I think they'll be happier with their finished pieces if they do that.

I don't imagine too many minimalists signed up for this class.  But for you minimalists who want to walk on the wild side (literally), and for the rest of my kindred spirits who embrace the 'more is more' theory, registration is still open for Conversation Hearts over here.  The Embellishment Extravanza commences on Thursday!