Completing My Craft Lake City Collaboration (sort of)

As my time working with Craft Lake City comes to a close, I've spent some time sprucing up the collaboration landing page. Originally, I only posted the introductory paragraph of the artist profiles and I included only a few photos from the workshop recaps. I did this to help drive traffic to the Craft Lake website. Now that the big push is over, I want everything to be properly posted and archived on my own site.

On the revamped page you can access an artist's profile or a workshop by selecting their cover photo. The full article and the full slideshow are now included on my site. Take a minute to look around, will you?

It's been a creative four months and I've loved the experience. Long-time readers will remember that I started 2013 with the power word ABUNDANCE. That intention took many forms over these past 12 months, one of which being CREATIVITY. I needed it back in my life and I expressed that need repeatedly. Well kids, my experience of this Universe is that you tend to get what you ask for. Eventually. Be specific and be ready. Intentions, focus, hard work...and saying yes. Keep saying yes.

I'll always look back on my time with Craft Lake as a period of rich creative renewal. I was able to flex my atrophied creative writing muscles, hone my rusty journalism skills, and dust off my camera. I got back in a groove and I needed that. I met amazing artists, many of whom live mere blocks from me, and am now thoroughly convinced that Salt Lake City is one of the craftiest cities ever. I gained the experience of working with a professional publishing team (Craft Lake was started and is still managed by the masterminds behind SLUG Magazine). I also now understand what freelancing feels like on top of my 40-60 hours-a-week j.o.b. (whew). On top of it all, I think I created a strong portfolio of work, if I do say so myself. And I do say so. I totally just said it. Bam.

Check out the new landing page. Read the profiles. Support the artists. Buy locally and buy handcrafted. Enjoy the workshop slideshows and how-to recaps. Get your hands dirty and get crafty with your friends. Read SLUG.

I'll retain the title of Contributing Blogger and they'll continue to contact me about future assignments. Stay tuned. Who knows...there may be another profile or two coming your way.

Love and abundant creativity,
me

Declaration of You Day: Recap #mondaydeclaration

To wrap up the experience I had with The Declaration of You Bloglovin' Tour, I participated in the Declaration of You Day. It was an all-day event hosted on Facebook, structured around moving all participants through each theme/chapter in the book. In the recapping words of organizers Michelle Ward & Jessica Swift, in 6 hours, 100 creative souls:

• Gave away 15 books (9 Declaration of You and others from Natalia KW, Alexandra Franzen, and Susannah Conway), and a 3-month subscription to Tiffany Han’s Love Letters.
• Chatted in real time with Kari Chapin, Colleen Wainwright, and Natalia KW.
• Did 8 “speed” projects and shared our photos with each other.
• Laughed our pajama pants off, made new friends and a big crafty mess. 

Here's a glimpse into pieces of my Declaration of You Day:

Visioning board: In 5 minutes, cruise through a magazine and tear out anything that inspires you.

Celebration Jar: Write down things you can do so celebrate your accomplishments...

ta-da...Celebration Jar!

Declaring your uniqueness: "If you're born a lion, don't bother trying to act tame" (Ani DiFranco).

Power word. Amen.

"Draw your alter ego..."

To see what other people were up to...here's a few recap collages shared by Michelle and Jessica:

You can read all of my declarations by clicking here or on the photos below.

You can read all the other posts also included in the tour by clicking here.

Making fruit salsa with Craft Lake City + West Elm

For this month's Craft Lake City workshop at West Elm, Liz from Butcher's Bunches taught us how to make no-cook fruit salsa. They use only local produce, no sugar, and donate a portion of their proceeds to charity. Pure awesome. This was my first time canning(ish) anything. I felt like such a frontier woman.

Fresh Fruit Salsa recipe, courtesy of Butcher's Bunches:

Dice:
10-12 peaches (substitutions and/or additions: raspberries, nectarines, corn)
5 bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 yellow, 2 green)
1 red onion
1 garlic clove
1/4 habanero pepper, cut into tiny pieces
1 jalapeno pepper, cut into tiny pieces

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lime juice
1 cup Slide Ridge Honey Wine Apple Vinegar (local SLC product, can substitute apple cider vinegar)
1 cup water

Dice, dice, dice and mix well. Let all ingredients soak together for about 20 minutes. Pour into canning jars and either refrigerate immediately (consume within 6 months) or boil for 15 minutes (consume within 3 years). Pairs well with salty corn tortilla chips, mild white fish, and chicken.

Follow my adventures on Instagram @fourthirtyam!

Pin, pin, and re-pin. These photos are already on my foodie board. Share away!

Love, 

me

What acrylic paints are teaching me about abundance #mondaymeditation

Alexander and I are gearing up to launch a collaborative art adventure. In doing so, we're focusing on our power words as a muse for the project. For 2013 he chose viral mindfulness and I chose abundance. I can point to a few scattered posts about abundance since the year started, but probably none as direct as the "I'm wearing pink lace panties" post. And yet, even though I haven't written a lot about abundance directly, it's been an overarching theme that's guiding my quest to regain creative mojo.

In preparation to start working with Alexander, I've reflected on my first-ever painting adventure. I realize now that although it was very joyful and very creative, it was not very abundant. To explain what I mean, I'll contrast it to a painting experience I had last night. I went to Paint Mixer in Park City with my friend Meg. This was the second time ever I've put paint to canvas, and it was entirely different from my first experience.

For whatever reason(s), my first painting experience felt loaded with expectations. I started with the end in mind and I painted toward it. I was scared to mix colors because I thought I'd mess it up. I got all precious with each layer and felt attached to each little brush stroke. I went in thinking I wanted a thousand layers of stuff, only to stop myself short because I was painting with a scarcity mindset. My experience in the class last night was exactly the opposite and I sustained an abundant mindset throughout. Meaning: I ditched the teacher's template about two minutes in and just made it up as I went. I layered and layered and had no idea how it would end up looking. I rocked out to the music, sang along, marveled at Meg's talents (she's an actual painter), and had very little investment in the end product. I mean, I paid for the Groupon months ago, so whatever, right?

So. Painting. Abundance. Life Lesson. 

The Dalai Lama said, "Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering." A scarcity mindset is the very definition of attachment. It holds on to everything because it's afraid to lose, it's afraid it will never get another shot at this, it's afraid to trust any sort of process. It's an illusion of control. An abundant mindset is detached in the sense that each moment is what it is, the end result is something that's sorted out through the nature of the process, the focus is on the flow of it all. As I enter my collaboration with Alexander, I'm going to promise myself no less than 10 layers of stuff on that canvas. I'm going to paint little bits at a time and leave it. Walk away. I'm going to allow my mind to let go of each layer, trusting that another equally beautiful layer is coming right on top of it. I will trust that there is no "messing it up" because at that point, that just is what the painting is. It just is what it is. And it's beautiful.

Love and layers,
me

Fabric flowers with Bagsy Blue Co.

Artist Ashley Gammill prepares for her workshop at West Elm

Another month, another Craft Lake City workshop at West Elm. This time we created fabric flowers with local artist Ashley Gammill of Bagsy Blue Co. When asked why this is her craft of choice, she said that the long winters were getting her down, but flowers make her happy -- "So now, I make them every day and share them with people." I love that thought. Something makes me happy, so that's what I do every day. Cheers to that.

Tiny pink glue guns. I mean, come on. How can this not be an awesome night?!

Fabric was donated by Riley Blake Designs.

With one small circle flat as the center of the flower, you then fold the remaining circles into little funnel shapes. Put the folded end at the bottom and fan out petal by petal, small in the center to large outside. 

I mixed and matched the fabric we were given. Why not?

Love,
me

Follow my creative adventures on Instagram @fourthirtyam.

Pop-up Shop(ping)

Welcome.

Craft Lake City sponsored an adorable little pop-up shop a couple weeks ago. There were a handful of local artists and DIY craft vendors in a space no bigger than a living room. It was cramped and cute and flooded with sunlight and smelled like waffles.

S to the L to the C. Or something. No one actually says that. 

Excuse me, I moustache you a question...how many waffles is too many waffles for a Saturday morning?

Festive.

No idea what you'd do with them, but they sure are cute.

I wasn't sure what I'd find at this tiny market, but I did acquire a few treasures (no surprise there). I discovered Darlybird and learned she is opening a store front in an old pioneer house in Provo, Utah. I feel comforted knowing I have such cute jewelry options within 45 miles of my SLC home. A south-bound field trip is in my future.

Darlybird. Seriously, I could've walked out of there with every pair.

A bit fuzzy on the focus, but the awesomeness is still evident. 

My favorite find of the day was Michelle Christensen's shop my little bellville. She is an illustrator who grew up in China as the daughter of a diplomat. You can definitely see the Asian influences in her work. I find it really whimsical and delicate.

Check her out on etsy!

The artiste herself.

my little bellville illustrations. 

I decided on a sweet boy/girl plate set. 

Guest Post: Crafting a DIY Community

Hello Readers, 

How are you? I have exciting news to share with you. You've ready my individual blog posts about various Craft Lake City workshops, but they recently invited me to do a guest post for their blog...sort of a meta post about my experience with the whole series. First of all, I was totally flattered and happy to do it. Beyond that, it was a great reflective exercise for me to summarize the energy of the workshops and try and explain why I love them so much. 

An excerpt: 

There was something electric, almost subversive, in the act of gathering around a tablewith complete strangers and creating something unique, together. I say “subversive” because the paradox of our hyper connected culture is that we aren’t really connecting with each other at all. With a flick of my finger on an iPhone screen I’m connected to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr, Yelp, Blogger, LinkedIn, Gmail, etc. etc. ad nauseum. I run this exact cycle of connectivity every day, multiple times a day, but when was the last time I started a conversation with a complete stranger?

In a collaborative effort to drive traffic to each other's sites, click the link below to read the full post. 

Crafting a DIY Community


Love, 
me

Every water bottle needs its own tote.

We're all long past the one-use plastic water bottle phase, right? Please. The next step in our eco-evolution is totes for our favorite re-usable bottles. Behold...

Neighbors on Pierpont Avenue, Tissu Fine Fabrics hosted the latest Craft Lake City workshop.

BYOB: Bring Your Own Bottle. All other necessities provided. 

Tissu is a gorgeous store. Made me wish I knew the first thing about sewing. 

#putabirdonit

Step One: A foam core, held around your bottle with a "frankenstein stitch"

Step Two: Stitch the fabric to the foam core.

Step Three: Ask the Cricut workshop sponsor guy to cut out a gold glitter bird for you.

Step Five-ish: Rethink the color selection of your ironic bird.
Then, once your gold blob is ironed on (Step Four), stitch a bottom on your tote. 

Step seven or so that I never got around to because I'm slow and new to this whole needle and fabric thing: Sew on a handle / strap. You're ready to hit the crowded farmer's market walkways, hydrated and handmade.

My water bottle is on a date with the water bottle belonging to @heathengoddess.

Meanwhile, can we take just a moment to freak out over the beauty of this store. I mean, seriously.

Handmade chandelier so girly and fabulous I can barely stand it. #covet

Again, if only I knew how to sew and what to do with all this. Other than touch it and photograph it.

Ibid.