Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Face Lift

For the shop.
Here are the three iterations of Ione'sAttic from the store opening in January 2009 to today.

Busy




I retained the gold color but bolded the font

Today.  Timed with the roll-out of the new wider format of Etsy.









 I used my photo of some melmac dishes that convey just the right image for my shop in fresher colors, retained Bauer Bodini for Ione's Attic but expanded it... Letter Gothic Standard for the subtext.  And I added a teaser for the upcoming Cookie's Closet for vintage clothing.

I created the above banners in Illustrator, a labourius task for me.  I've noticed on the last export to the jpeg format that the teal blue of Ione's came out a flourescent aqua so I had to adjust several times to get it to the appropriate tone.  Is this usual?

update: 01/12/11
several days ago, a fellow vesties team member alerted me that my banner was not displaying.  I found it curious as I refreshed my page and everything looked good to me.  After consulting etsy's guide to creating a banner, Banner Tips.
I noticed that it was recommended to save the jpeg in RGB rather than CMYK.  This seemed to fix the problem.  Banner displayed fine on both Mac and PC.  Now I will refresh the colors of my Illustrator document, resave in RGB and see if the colors are truer to desired.
Isn't it great to have good resource from administration, and great fellowship with other sellers?

Friday, August 27, 2010

oh boy! faux bois!

Translation..."yip-pee! fake wood!"  
It's so much better in french.
This is the latest of the prop style sheets I send out...more inspired items below.


Martha Stewart Living Layered Faux Bois Sequoia 4 ft. x 6 ft. Wool Area Rug
available at Home Depot for 139.00 

Log watercolor illustrations by GollyBard 

arched metal twig mirror 

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Maryann

This Friday, August 20th 2010, I was reminded on my way to the hospital, of the forty- fifth anniversary of the Beatles visit to Minneapolis and Metropolitan Stadium.  It was also the day of my mother-in-law's passing.
            I had carved out 25 minutes between yoga classes to make a run to the ICU.  I arrived, stood at the foot of her bed, and placed my hands on her feet.  With her oldest daughter at her left hand and another daughter-in-law at her right hand, I watched her take her last breaths.  She was gone within five minutes of my arriving. The men in the room, her three sons, and one grandson (my son), sat or stood near the perimeter of the room, and one by one said their goodbyes.
            My mother-in-law had suffered the last years with congestive heart failure and failing eyesight.  She depended on medication and an oxygen life line, and several recent blood transfusions.  But with her determination and with her childrens help, she remained in her home up until three days of her death.  An especially kind neighbor, saw to her appointments to the beauty parlor and almost daily visits.
             Maryann had been widowed for thirty years.  She lost her husband at the age of fifty-seven, my current age, and suffered that loneliness in spite of the company and pride in a parade of grand children and great-grand children.

            I will not talk about the mothering memories that her children will recall in eulogy.  I will say what I know and what I experienced apart from her being my childrens' grandmother and my former husband’s mother.  This woman was not a worldly woman. In many ways she shunned the world.  She preferred memories and values of the past to the present.  She preferred prayer to dialog.  And she sometimes excelled in suffering. 
            She hated that she could no longer read, or barely manage to watch her beloved Twins baseball games on TV.  She hated that she had no strength or interest in tending her flowers.  Apart from all that, she suffered tremendously from the demise of her son’s and my marriage.  For the past nine years, she suffered daily…remorse, shame, fear of the unknown…and offered it all to me in forms I did not always recognize as gifts.  Her cards, her calls, her tokens of reparation in the form of some small valuables continued over the years.  She prayed constantly for me in hopes that my business would improve.  She probably never gave up praying for my reunion with her son, even though I am in a committed relationship.
            I would still visit her. I would take her home-made soup or a jar of home-made jam. Her children may not know that I used to give her healing touch and reiki therapy, which comforted her.  There was not a time that we spoke within the last couple of years that she didn’t end the conversation with, “I Love You”.  Her fragile heart continued to suffer all the physical insults of age, a curvature of her spine restricted her breath, and the break of family bonds crushed her.  Her eldest daughter’s recent divorce broke her heart.

Over the last three days I have observed my feelings change from one who supports the bereaved to one who is bereaved. I had no way of knowing the loss I would experience with the passing of this tiny woman, with her fierce faith and long-suffering love.  

So Long Marianne by Leonard Cohen
click above to listen

Come over to the window, my little darling,
I'd like to try to read your palm.
I used to think I was some kind of Gypsy boy
before I let you take me home.

Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began
to laugh and cry and cry and laugh about it all again.

Well you know that I love to live with you,
but you make me forget so very much.
I forget to pray for the angels
and then the angels forget to pray for us.

Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...

We met when we were almost young
deep in the green lilac park.
You held on to me like I was a crucifix,
as we went kneeling through the dark.

Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...

Your letters they all say that you're beside me now.
Then why do I feel alone?
I'm standing on a ledge and your fine spider web
is fastening my ankle to a stone.

Now so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...

For now I need your hidden love.
I'm cold as a new razor blade.
You left when I told you I was curious,
I never said that I was brave.

Oh so long, Marianne, it's time that we began ...

Oh, you are really such a pretty one.
I see you've gone and changed your name again.
And just when I climbed this whole mountainside,
to wash my eyelids in the rain!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

orange lotus
















The orange lotus I am familiar with is the sacral chakra, referred to in sanskit as Swadhisthana...find out more here.
Energy in balance allows creative and sensual expression.  

This recent estate find of a little enamel pot with the CatherineHolm of Norway, is called Lotus Orange and made it to the favorite list of this beautiful blog: dee dee's faves on etsy check it out on the right side bar of her blog page.
Thanks deedee914 for the notice!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Dog Days, Cicada Whine


















90 degrees plus continues...
I am finding the carcasses of cicadas all around the yard.  The pupal stage can stay underground for up to 17 years!  Then it's time to crawl out to find a tree branch, or in this case, my clothes line, split open your ectoskeleton, whine for a date and die.