The May Day Giveaway

May Day has always been one of my favorite days of the year.

When I was a child I remember my mother picking wildflowers and placing them in a basket at my grandmother's door step. She would knock on the door and hide. It was exciting to see my grandmother's face when she opened the door to that lovely surprise.

Although May Day has never been a prominent holiday in America its tradition remains in the hearts of many with British American heritage.

To celebrate this lovely coming of Spring I thought it only fitting to host my first Giveaway.

The lucky winner of the May Day Giveaway will receive this fun Travel Bag.

The Travel bag is a great bag for holding those minimal essentials when you're traveling, or shopping.

Made of a fun and modern fabric with a matching lining.

The bag measures 6.5" wide and 9" high.

There is a 5" pocket on the front and back. 

It's easy to participate and all you need to do is follow 3 simple conditions.

1. You must be a follower of my blog, Gerald's Room. (Through the Google Friend Connect gadget found on the right column of my blog)

2. Click on "I Like" on my Facebook page. Or heart my Etsy Shop for those without a Facebook profile.

3. Leave a comment below on which is your favorite handbag, purse or accessory from my Etsy Shop. 

Please leave me a seperate comment below when you have completed all 3 steps and please include your email address so that you can be notified if you are the winner.

The closing date will be on May 1st at 12 am EST. The winner will be selected by a random number through random.org.
(please note, this is open to US Citizens Only)

Good Luck!

Studio News - April 4th 2011

They have finally hatched! The Spring Fling Clutch!

I wanted to create a clutch that was inspired by the colors of Spring....with a kick!

These brightly colored fabric combinations create the illusion of what it would be like to be inside a bag of jelly beans!

My ode to Spring....

Made of a rich spring cotton fabric and lined with a sweet corresponding cotton.

Accessorized with a silk Gerber daisy pin.

Dimensions:

8"x 3" purse frame

9" wide at bottom

5" long

2" gusset

This is the perfect accessory for an evening out, a bridesmaid gift,

or even a lovely accessory to a Spring dance.....

Discount on quantities of 4 or more.

Inspiration Wednesday - The Road Home

My latest custom order was a labor of love.

Inspired by the classic tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The story simple, the inspiration timeless.

Dorothy and her dog Toto are caught in a tornado's path and somehow end up in the land of Oz. Here she meets some memorable friends and foes in her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz who everyone says can help her return home and possibly grant her new friends their goals of a brain, heart and courage.

10 Ways to Inspire Creativity

Everyone can get into a creative slump. Here are ten ways to stimulate your creative juices and generate fresh inspiration.

Create art in a new place
Grab your sketchbook and head to a part of town you usually don't visit and plop down on a curb, bench or car hood and start to draw what you see.

Try something new
Do you usually paint in oils? Try pastels. Draw anime? Try drawing flowers. Do you work with leather? try cotton or burlap.

Read
Try reading something totally different from what you usually do, even if it is just a magazine article on an unusual subject. Keep doing this at least once for several days. The new and different information will get your mind thinking about new subjects, unlocking new avenues for creativity.

Go back to your roots
Think about what you used to draw or create as a child. Try your hand at it again, using crayons, of course. This exercise moves your mind from the strain of "adult art" and allows it to be more creative in the process. All the while you are still creating art that may be used as preliminary sketches for something more grand.

Go Radical
Don't just try a different medium, try a virtual medium! If you've never dabbled in computer art of any kind, now is the time to give it a try. You don't need to buy fancy software.

Teach
We artists are so into learning new techniques that sometimes we forget it is also important to switch gears and teach. This will put your mind on a totally new track for a while. I'm not saying you have to go out and teach to a classroom of students. There are many sites on the internet with forums where artists can share their ideas and takes on techniques.

Get Chatty
Creating can be a lonely, solitary job sometimes. Get out and talk with others about your craft or join an online chat group. Your brain may be crying out for conversation

Rewind
Instead of trying to make something new, look at something old. Go through your old sketchbooks, portfolio, and finished art pieces. Maybe revisit and old piece and re-do it.

Take a mental break
Do something other than obsess about your creative block. Go for a walk, go eat lunch, get some errands done. The important point is to get your mind on something else to give your subconscious time to work on the problem. You may find an idea just comes to you while you're doing something else.


Give yourself a blank slate
Cleanse your mind by cleansing your mistakes. Erase a botched drawing. Paint over a fouled oil. Rip out and toss a fizzled sketch, tear apart that botched blouse.

Three Ways to Overcome Winter Blues

“Winter Blues”
The mere mention of it has me stirring in my seat today.
Have you ever met someone that has no idea what you're talking about when you rant about it? Its a very exclusive club. You know who they are. The people who don’t feel blue whatsoever during the winter months. You can easily recognize them.They’re the ones running around with their Starbucks, all bundled up and smiling when someone says there’s snow in the forecast. However, dealing with the “Winter Blues” is a very real problem for many people including me. So here are three suggestions that I have followed from time to time when I feel like driving off the road after two hours on that snowy road to work.

First and foremost here are three "DONTS" that will bring you way down.
1. Don't coop yourself up. If you pull the curtains, close the blinds and don’t get out of the house unless it’s an emergency....DONT!!
2. Don't dwell on warmer climates and warmer months. Stop setting beach scenes as your wallpaper and getting misty eyed each time you look at it. DONT!!
3.  Don't complain until your lungs give out. I'm not talking about the "baby its cold outside" phrases. Its winter and yes its cold. I'm talking about the full belly aches and nag attacks that you drop on your co-workers and friends until you feel like a big pity party complete with vodka! We all do it....I did my share 30 minutes ago. DONT!!

So here they are.

1. Fall in love with the season! Okay, if you’re feeling blue, this may seem like a stretch – but your happiness depends upon your open mindedness.  Remind yourself of the things that only come around when Mother Nature turns down the thermostat:  NFL, hockey, homemade soup, bread, chili, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, college football, college basketball, prime time premieres, skiing, snowmen, sledding, apple cider, hot chocolate,  no yard work. Watch DVDs, play Scrabble, Uno, Life, Trivia Pursuit, or Monopoly.  Grab the most difficult looking jigsaw puzzle in town and set up a special table just for it.  My mom would do that every winter. In fact she's probably doing one now. 
2. Talk about it. Grab someone’s ears and talk through your feelings, even if it’s dog's ears.  I talk to myself on my two hour drive home. By the time I reach home I have exhausted those pent up emotions and feel less inclined to take it out on the ones I love. Sometimes, when we let our emotions have their say, we’ll find out what’s at the heart of the matter.  The root of the blues may be a case of grief.  Winter often brings a longing for people who have passed away. People make the mistake of thinking that talking about these loved ones makes the feelings worse. Au contraire!  Talking about loved ones we miss keeps them alive in our minds and hearts. Sometimes I pull out old recipes from my grandmother and bake, bake, bake! Why not? I'm certainly not going to turn that oven on in the summer months!
3. Get out of the house and, most definitely, get out of the office. Try to keep things as normal as possible.  If you enjoyed a daily walk at lunch time during the warm months, bundle up and waddle around the trail in the cold months.  The sunshine, such as it is, will do you as much good as the activity will.  Getting regular doses of both does a body good.. One of the many things I love about winter is the eagerness of the birds. Sometimes on a snowy Sunday morning I listen for the birds as they wake up. I revel when its time to walk to the mailbox and grab the Sunday paper. My little dog Jack waddles along side me and we both take in the world as it wakes up for the day...snow and all.

Also, change the way you look at things, if possible.  For example – it’s not cold, it’s  brisk!  You aren’t freezing your butts off, you’re being rejuvenated!  You don’t hate the frigid conditions, you embrace the wintriness! Okay, I hear your laughter and detect a frosty attitude. I just went outside to mail a package and I saw that it’s starting to snow again.  This calls for a celebratory cup of  tea! Now get out there and have fun with winter.

Studio News - March 3rd 2011

It's Friday and I'm already working on my weekend schedule in the studio.

Several wedding clutches and laptop bags just waiting to take a ride on my sewing machine.

I'm hoping the sun is good to me this weekend as I have many new bags to add to my lovely Etsy Store!

I was handed a wonderful opportunity to create a tote based on the characters from the Wizard of Oz.

I have been sketching and sketching and I think Ive come up with the right concept.

My thought is to have Dorothy and her trio of friends skipping down the yellow brick road on the front side.

On the back side have them heading toward the beautiful emerald city. I plan to hide little elements such as the witch, toto and the ruby slippers throughout the bag. This is a work in progress.Stay tuned.

Behind the Seams - Pincushions

How many of you have one of these in your sewing room or repair basket?

If you look around my design room you will see pincushions in various shapes, sizes and colors. I have been making and collecting them for as long as I can remember. For me they serve many uses. Opposite the obligatory pin catching, they can be quite whimsical and inventive. Many of us spend several hours a day in our sewing rooms. The subtle nuance of an interesting piece of art that you impale your pins into can be just the mental vacation one needs.

For me, it all started while working in a small alterations room many years ago.  I didn’t have a pincushion so I stuffed an old teddy bear face down into a coffee can with his legs and bottom hanging out. That poor creature suffered my wrath everyday for 3 years. It brought me many hours of joy when my 70 year old boss winced at each stabbing. I digress.

Pincushions have been a staple in sewing rooms everywhere for centuries. Their value serves in both function and art.

The first pincushions were first recorded in history during the Tudor reign in 15th century England. Metal pins were a very costly and precious item in those early days. Before the 15th century pins were kept in small cases made of bone, ivory, or silver.

During the Tudor era, simple stuffed shapes started to be used instead of the cases. Fabric too was highly valued. Scraps were used for both quilting and pincushions. They began by being made of colorful and elaborately decorated silks and linens, replete with tassels and laces. During the Victorian era there was a great deal of emphasis on the parlor room and it became the perfect place in which to display the novelty pincushions of the era. Pincushions were made in the shape of shoes, fans, dolls, teacups, umbrellas, fruits, and vegetables. They were hung on the walls or placed on occasional tables.

Today there are entire shops, blogs and books devoted to these whimsical and timeless treasures. Here are a few:

Softies Central - Blog

The Purl Bee - Blog

Details by Des - Etsy Store

Making Fabulous Pincushions - book by Jo Packham

What does all of this mean to you? How about a challenge? Send me your pictures and stories of your favorite pincushion. Where does it sit and where did it come from? Did you make it yourself? Be inventive! There is always a story behind the seams…