Friday, April 10, 2015

How About a Little Art Diary ...

I affixed background paper and lined
diary paper to an 8 1/2" x 11"
canvas board.
... on this Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday? The subject is fiber-based, promise!

Hello everyone - and here we are, in the beginning of April. As I wrote here last September, I created some content for an e-zine that never made it to print (the content, not the e-zine!). Now that I have possession once again of the content, I thought I'd share it with everyone. It's timely as well, since the focus of the original art diaries (there are four of them) was one of the major LYS tours here in the Puget Sound (and if you look at the photos from my September blog entry, you'll see most of the fiber I picked up along the way, some of which I'm using now in various projects).

So, to get people primed for this year's 10th anniversary LYS tour, over the next four weeks I thought I'd not only share with you my four days' worth of art blogging from last year, but also a little sneaky peek at my particular art process on these pieces. I really had a great time creating all of this - I did a lot of the background prep work prior to the tour, but the writing and the finishing touches I did in real time, during and immediately after the blog tour. 

Here I've painted the outer edges with acrylic paint,
then used a dry brush dipped in iridescent bronze
powder to make it shimmer. Markers add highlight
and sponges dipped in acrylic act as stamps. As
you'll see on the left, I've also started to use some
ephemera from the LYS tour (the map). 

Here's the final art diary piece for day 1. Since I floated the diary text electronically
over my handwriting and then used my snipping tool to create a jpeg, the diary
entry is a little hard to read, so you can see the entry below. The tablet cover is
the project that went with this content and was published at ILikeCrochet.com

DAY 1:

Today is all about driving. I get a slightly later start than I plan (you know, the coffee and bagel run),  but I am thrilled to be on the road and heading to the northern-most stop on the tour – Blaine. Weather? Perfect. Music? Pharrell William’s Happy + the latest Nikki Yanofsky as I get closer to Canada and pick up a local British Columbia radio station. I score the main color for the tablet cover in the Blaine sunshine with views of the water right across the street – Berroco Comfort’s saturated color and silky feel win me over. In Bellingham (just south of Blaine), I snag some of the new Harrisville Designs’ Shetland in a gorgeous deep blue. Psst: it’s only being carried by 10 retailers; this is New England in a yarn hank. I fall for Frabjous Fibers’ Peace Silk, don’t take a lunch break till 4:00 pm, and end the day getting lost (my one and only time of the day) on the way to my 9th LYS. It stays open past 8:00 pm to accommodate my lame navigational skills, for which I’m super grateful. Get home more than 12 hours from the start of my day. Exhausted … but, you guessed it … happy.

Friday, April 3, 2015

It's a Bloggy Tour Announcement

Happy Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday, everyone! Where oh where did this week go? Where oh where can it be? It's lost and gone for certain, out there with the unmatched socks.

Nevertheless, I'm here to tell you that the Voie de Vie Spring Flingy Thingy is in its infancy here in my Ravelry group. People are starting to make their way to both the Frosted Espresso Cardigan test as well as the a-long for Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace. Do come and join us, won't you? We're having fun picking just the right yarns for our projects at the moment.



Speaking of the book, I'm thrilled to be able to announce the stops on its blog tour, which will take place between Monday, 5/4 and Sunday, 5/10 (Mother's Day). The wonderful participants include:

                  Monday, 5/4        Dream in Color
                  Tuesday, 5/5       Crochet Queen: Royal Ramblings
                  Wednesday, 5/6  January Yarns
                  Thursday, 5/7      Neighborhood Fiber Co.
                  Friday, 5/8           Wonder Why Alpaca Farm, LLC
                  Sunday, 5/10       Wooly Cakes and Wooden Spoons
                                          (Stefanie of Knitspiring Odyssey's brand spanking new home)

Remember that all the comments left each day will earn the author a chance at some yarny + book prizes in my give-away at the end of May, a chance at the grand prize package that includes a Scenic Seaplane Flight Tour donated by Kenmore Air (and of course you need to be in the greater Puget Sound for this prize, or get your awesome self here ... like ... pronto), and that's on top of those blog tour participants that give away a copy of Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace. I hope all the people will visit every tour stop and give each blog owner your time and attention. 

In the interim, I'm going to enjoy choosing more yarns for projects. I sooooooo need more time so I can make.all.the.things.





Wednesday, April 1, 2015

It's My Spring Flingy Thingy - No April Fooling!



Hello everyone - it's April!!!! March might come in like a lion, but April and May in these parts might just positively roar. 

Welcome to the Voie de Vie Spring Flingy Thingy - where the focus will be on Voie de Vie designs and awesome yarn, and where pretty much any activities might earn you an entry for wonderful yarny prizes and a chance for a grand prize when it's over that is just spectacular.

So let's get to the particulars, shall we? 

Spring Flingy Thingy dates: 4/1 - 5/31
Where: In my Ravelry group, here on my blog, on certain of my Pinterest boards, my Twitter feed, my book's Facebook page, and my Instagram account.
Why: To celebrate the publishing of my book Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace, all things Voie de Vie design, as well as the wonderful yarnies big and small who support my design efforts.
How: You'll earn one entry for one of four book + yarn prizes, and one grand prize (described in just a minute) if you do any and/or all of the following: 

(1) like my book's Facebook page
(2) follow me on Pinterest or Instagram
(3) join my Ravelry group
(4) participate in Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace's a-long in my Ravelry group and post a photo of a completed project by the end of May
(5) leave a comment on any of the blog sites that will be participating in the Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace blog tour 5/4 - 5/10 (and more on the tour on this Friday's blog post)
(6) join one or both public tests in my Ravelry group during April and May and complete the test
(7) purchase any Voie de Vie single pattern or pattern e-book anywhere I sell (Ravelry, Craftsy, Big Cartel) during the months of April and May
(8) repin any image that contains either one of my designs AND/OR one of the yarns used in Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace from my Pinterest Voie de Vie designs board, Voie de Vie Designs Out There in the Crafty Wild board or Fiber Fanatic board

There are eight awesome ways to get in on the prize-a-thon that will occur at the end of May. From all of the entries generated above, I will be giving away 4 Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace book + yarn prizes, and one grand prize that includes the book, a yarn package from Cascade Yarns complete with project bag and enough yarn to make a Cochran Puffy V Shoulder Warmer and a Seattle Scenic Flight Tour for 2 from Kenmore Air! (Of course, if you're not already in the Puget Sound, you'll have to get yourself here on your own, like, ok?!)

There will also be separate yarn prizes for those who complete a project in the book's a-long, and there will be more information in my Ravelry group on that.

All in all, it's going to be one heck of fun spring here at Voie de Vie!