What do you use it for?

I get this question all the time concerning my baskets. My usual answer is, "I use it to sit on a shelf and look at it." This isn't being cute, I simply see baskets as works of art to be displayed as you would any sculpture or painting. I don't consider my baskets to be useless, they are just non-utilitarian. Also, most of the baskets I make these days have nearly $100 or more in materials alone. I am not going to be going out to the garden with a hundred plus dollar basket.

With all that said though, I still do "use" some of my baskets. I have a large black ash basket that is my work/shopping basket that I take to craft shows and carry my weaving supplies around in. I also have an ash basket that I made a draw-string liner for that I use as my tool basket. And I have a nice white oak basket that found at an estate sale that I take the farmers' market. These baskets are all utilitarian forms that I use in a utilitarian fashion.

Pretty much all of the baskets that Eric Taylor teaches are designed with a specific function, e.g. tool tote, business card holder, napkin basket, etc. I have made many of Eric's baskets, but like with most of my other baskets, they are simply display pieces, that is, except for Eric's Cottage Jewelry Basket.

Cottage Jewelry Basket - black ash and cherry.

Of course I don't use it to keep my jewelry, but I do using it to keep my ChapStiks (which are very important to me), billfold, keys and watch. This is where I empty my pockets when I get home from work and before I change into my sweatpants and Crocs...

Christmas Gift

I am very excited that I finally got a set of Tim Holtz Distress Markers by Ranger. I asked for them for Christmas (because they are over $100 for the set!) and my parents got them for me from the scrapbooking store in my home town. I have yet to even open them yet to try them out! I am going to have to find a nice free Saturday or Sunday to just play. My stash of stamped basket cards is desperately low and I need to restock before the State Line Friends Weaving Retreat in April where I will be vending.

I also downloaded the Instragram app the other day and this is my first attempt to use it...

My 2012 Christmas Tree

Right click on a PC or control click on a Mac to gianormasize.

OK, so this post would seem to be a bit late, but since I just got my tree decorated the other evening it actually isn't. By the time I decorate my parents' store window for Christmas, then a few weeks later their house and 10' tall Christmas tree I am starting to poop out on decorating. I usually get my mantle and other table tops decorated and I even get the tree brought up stairs and the lights all working, but with all the other holiday running around I just never have a block of time large enough before I head home to my parents' to actually get the ornaments on the tree. Now you might be asking yourself, "why even bother to decorate the tree at this point?" Well, ever since I moved into my new house I have had an "after the holidays holiday party" usually a couple weeks after the new year. This has worked out to be the perfect time to have a party as everyone is free of holiday commitments, but still in the holiday mood. So, I HAVE to have a Christmas tree for a Christmas/New Year's party. Unfortunately because of the late date of the party I have the perfect excuse to not make time to decorate the tree until after Christmas has already past. I have actually waiting until the night before the party to decorate the tree, but that was just plain stupid as it was a whole lot of work for just a days worth of enjoyment. I promised myself I wouldn't do that again and I did get this one decorated before New Year's Eve like last year. Maybe next year I will even get it up before the 25th! Well, I can at least "plan" on doing that...

2012 Alice Ogden Christmas Ornament

I present Alice Ogden's 2012 Christmas ornament basket. It is now proudly hanging with the rest of my mini baskets on my basket tree. This one is an "onion" or "garlic" baskets woven in a Shaker "cheese weave".

2012 Christmas Card

I present my 2012 Christmas card! They are all addressed, stuffed and ready to go into the mail.

Ah, the rush of the holiday season

2012 Christmas card parts stamped, cutout and partially inked.

I thought I was doing so good this Christmas. I had my cards finished up before December even started, the earliest I think I have ever had them ready, and here they have sat unsigned and unaddressed. Now I am rushed to get them sent out! Oh well, that's the way every year seems to go. It is always run, run, run.

I always have high hopes of taking step-by-step photos of my card making, but I usually get wrapped up in the process and forget after the first couple of steps. The photo above is of all the Santas stamped images cutout with my eClips machine. I used permanent Archival black ink to stamp the Tim Holtz Santa image, inked the edges with Distress inks and a blending tool, then gave them a good spritz with biscotti colored Perfect Pearls for some shimmer.

I promise to take a photo of the completed card so you can see how they turned out.

Wish I was weaving Wednesday

JoAnn Kelly Catsos poses with me and the two baskets I made in the workshop I hosted for her

Oh how I wish I was weaving on this Wednesday (well every day actually) instead of having to go to work. I can't believe that my workshop with JoAnn Kelly Catsos was almost a month ago already. That is the last chance I have had to weave. With the holiday season rapidly approaching I doubt I will have much time for any more either. My next big project is making my Christmas cards. At least I have them designed and started. I really really need to work on getting all the pieces made so that I can take them home to my parents over Thanksgiving so I can sit and assemble while sitting in front of the fireplace.