White Nest

When I was in school for interior design, we had grueling schedules.  One semester consisted of four all-nighters per week.  Needless to say, us students truly bonded.  

One of my closest friends in the program was Meg.  Completely talented, dedicated, detail oriented, and humble and fun as heck.  She's an uber-successful designer these days in Chicago, but also keeps up with her crafting.    

I just found out that she opened White Nest on Etsy.  Meg  combiness her attention to detail, excellent craftsmanship and refined taste to create these gorgeous and understated pillows.  

I really love the geometric design in the top one, and the subtle colors.  (I know that Marissa and "subtle colors" don't tend to go together, but my tastes are changing slowly).  

The flock of birds is cute. I like how it is a looser graphic of the birds, rather than so detailed.  It can read as a pattern or be a literal interpretation.

And lastly, stripes with a slight pop of her signature color, hot pink.  This is a classy lady who included a monochromatic candy bar at her wedding, complete with jars of hot pink sweets.

So go check her out, and tell her I sent you!  I realize that my opinion is completely biased, but trust me, she's truly that amazing!


P.S. Meg, you need a blog.  Get on it, girl.

I Heart Calaveras

Ever since I saw and purchased a Piddleloop bag in an Alexander Henry pattern, I've been enthralled by calavera images. Like their popular cousin (the regular skull), I find the calaveras much more festive.



I drew my own last year, and really need to draw some more soon!



So, when I saw this print from by my crafty-printing-blog pal Shona in her shop (LaLaDexpress), I had to order the last of this limited edition. It's a letterpress print with a traditional Day of the Dead poem, in Spanish and English side by side. She included her own art on the top and bottom. I love it!



Shona is one of my favorite people that I've met through blogging. I would have scoffed if you told me three years ago that I would become friends with people I had never actually met (in person). But there quite a few of you that I now consider my friends! When we do meet one day, we'll have a beer or a cup of coffee and it will totally be normal. I'm sure of it!

Yeah, I'm officially a complete nerd. But I think y'all knew that!

Raining Stars

I have been following the work of Heather Smith Jones since I saw her art. I'm drawn to her use of color, different techniques, gorgeous transparency and opacity in her watercolors, and the words and phrases she uses. There was one piece that I especially loved, and when I finally convinced myself to buy it as a thirtieth birthday present to myself, it had already been snatched up. Rightly so, but I was very disappointed.

Well, what I got was even better! She did a small piece for me that contained certain elements similar to the first piece. I did not want her to feel confined to recreate something. I told her what I really liked about the other piece, but told her I would love whatever she created for me and to use her artistic license.

This is what she made for me.



When I read the title on the piece, it says, "It was raining stars that night, yet one shone the brightest." I was really touched when I saw that. You see, my Dad had a star named in memory of my brother, Andrew. So unknown to Heather, sometimes we think of Andrew as our star in the sky, since he always wanted to go to space!



My dad gave the star chart to me, and Mike reframed it to include a favorite photo of my brother and me. I showed my friends the new art and the star chart. I had forgotten, but there's a red circle highlighting Andrew's star.



My friend Vic had to point this out, but we realized that my new piece also had a red circle highlighting the "brightest star" in the title.



Some may think that these things are just coincidences, and you can find a correlation between anything. In fact, I sometimes think that. But I also know that if I want to feel comforted that these little coincidences mean something, I'm allowed.

When I don't know what I believe, it's those random little things that give me hope for a place I can't even imagine, hugging my brother again, or just the unlimited options for the unknown. At the very least, I think of those little things as Andrew telling me that he is okay. Or that he can still see the huge history that happened yesterday, and oh, would he have been celebrating!

So thank you to Heather, for bringing me unexpected additonal joy on my thirtieth birthday. If you want your own piece of magic, you can visit the shop for Heather Smith Jones here!

Sea Urchin Ring

Sheer chance found me browsing Etsy while this sea urchin ring was being featured on their front page. Well, sheer chance, and the fact that I forgot Kathy Jean's birthday, and wanted to send some Sulu-Design earrings to assuage my guilt...



The ring is from Star of the East, a wonderful mother and daughter team located in Turkey. After travelling across the Atlantic, it's now sitting on my dresser.



I love my new ring, and it's the perfect size for my extra large man-hands!

Sparkles? Sign me up.

I can see, again! I was in dire need of new glasses. Apparently, my prescription did not change as I was certain it had. You see, my old frames were so heavy, the bridge of my nose non-existent, and earpiece so cracked, that they were sliding down my face and the lenses were not positioned correctly. Oh.

Ta-da! New glasses below. Of course I had to pick a pair with sparkles...



I'm knitting up some Koigu mill ends to create small hand warmers. I love this yarn. It's so springy you could use it as a trampoline.



Lastly, I hadn't picked up my watercolors in awhile. I made a thank you card for someone that was long overdue.



It was so much fun to draw her little creations, inspired from her etsy shop, here.

I Heart Piddleloop!

The inspiration for the calaveras illustration came from the Alexander Henry fabric on this Piddleloop Sewing Team knitting bag.



Sherry always raves about their products and customer service, and now I see why. These gals are first rate. The craftsmanship is excellent, and the fabrics are ones you want to show off.



Not to mention the plethora of treats they threw in. If you look at a few of the stitchmarkers below, you'll see an 'M' and an 'H'. It could be a coincidence that those are my initials. After a few emails back and forth with Jen, I doubt it. She's that good.



Here is the swag in it's full glory. Let me tell you, when I unwrapped the package, I kept exclaiming to myself, "Are you kidding me?!" I was so impressed and surprised.

I think I also like Jen so much, because she's a fellow Indiana University graduate and ex-Collins resident. Thank you, Jen, for making such great products. I love my new bag!

I think Olivia will be getting one next. By the way, Olivia is still blogless, but she is on Ravelry (Olily). So go ask her to be your friend, after you buy yourself a bag from Piddleloop...

Amapolas (Poppies)

I treated myself to this delightful print below. It is from the fabulously talented, Geninne, whose blog, photographs and illustrations I have been admiring. She's quite an inspiration, I can't help raving.



Please visit her etsy shop here. Even her two sons are wonderful artists, and have their own blog. Awesome...

Here's Muir below...or what was left of it before I ripped it out last night. I had made a few too many mistakes for only 18 rows, so am starting over. Why? I think my mama's worth it!



I better go. I have chili cooking and should not be blogging while waiting for water to boil. Mike is nearby though -- and we have a fire extinguisher...

Double Pointed Needle Holders

The Anne transformed into this skein after a spin with the swift.



I started knitting my sock from the toe-up, using the 'magic cast-on'. Hmm...I just looked at the diagram, and realized I did it wrong. But it worked out, so I'll let it go this time.

Don't you like how the rows of color are forming? The color coming out is different than I anticipated, but I love surprises.



I couldn't knit my socks without my new double pointed needle holders! Sherry, from knitting circle, sells them on her etsy shop, Three Owls Knitting.

They're fantastic. They prevent stitches slipping and needles stabbing through my purse, and keep the needles nice and organized. The cute beads Sherry put on don't hurt either!

The sun is setting earlier, as shown...so picture taking will be getting a bit harder.

Yellow Icarus Wings

I added two sets of these cards to my etsy shop today here. I will be adding new cards soon, sold individually...



I have to get going now, two of our friends are coming over for dinner tonight. Mike is going to make enchiladas, so I'm going to attempt to make churros and a chocolate dipping sauce. (Or churros y chocolate, which was the name of my old Spanish book!).

Oh, and mojitos of course. I just made a simple syrup, and added a splash of vanilla extract. It made my kitchen smell delicious.

Enjoy your weekends!

mariss+drew: open for business...

This is officially my whole hearted attempt to rev up my etsy shop, mariss+drew. If I announce it to my crafty and blogger friends, then I must follow through! You guys are great for accountability.



I did the half-hearted attempt in December, to get the first sale out of the way and make myself figure some things out.

I hope to make paper goods and perhaps some prints in the future. I'm obsessed with correspondence and stationary, and books and bookplates, so we'll see what happens.



I came up with the name last year. My brother and I were always "Marissa and Andrew" or "Mariss and Drew". One of the phrases I miss most is our names together, since I'm now the only piece left.

Sometimes when people die, you end up talking about them a lot. I feel like I do alot on this blog, but it's just a part of my life now, not necessarily a morbid thing. You just want to talk about that person sometimes, since they're a part of you, and always will be. They're just as important to you in death as in life. But I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me or uncomfortable. That would never be my intention.

Andrew inspired me to finally put myself out there, and use the talents I posess. He was the one who drew all the time, and filled journals with an entire universe he created for a comic featuring an alter ego he created, Rydek. He even had labeled the weapons and parts and pieces for all of the aliens in their universe. It was amazing, as he was.
In his passing, I had to re-evaluate what I wanted to do in my life. One of the things was making things for people, like I had always said I wanted to.

Either way, I'm looking to have fun with this creative outlet, work some stuff out, and enjoy myself making some art.

I still have more items to finish and put in the shop. Please be patient with my while I get everything up to speed! And thank you for your encouragement and support, in all aspects of my life.

xoxo, Mariss