Printsy Thursday #7.

How lovely to be home finally to post about this week's Printsy Thursday artist(s).
I may have paint on my hands and dust in my hair (what a fun day at the new house... will this saga never end? - can we just move in yet...) - yet I digress.

This week's spotlight is on Lapwing Printworks run by the team of Jon and Sarah located in "the east of England". I think they just wrote that for us Yanks on Etsy as on their blog we get the true local - Norwich!

I knew I liked their work right away, especially when I saw how they mix fine art printing ( wonderful camera woodcut above ) and surface pattern ( check out their beautiful wrapping paper). Both artists bring wonderful talent and variety to their collection.

Here is a gem - a woodcut of a north Norfolk sea view - I love to see what environments enspire. They just make you want to visit!


I also love this "Winter Squash" lino - especially when the layers of color are revealed in an additional pic.

Thanks for looking - and don't forget to check out other Printsy artists interviewed on the Printsy blog.

Back In The Swing.

Well... vacation was great! Full of beach and family and parties. So back home again with some new prints. I have been making some custom house portraits on tea towels this past few days - so wanted to show some shots.

I have listed this custom service in my Etsy shop as well - it is certainly fun. I am always a bit surprised when the block gets printed - how nicely the pattern develops from the repetition.

Front. (There are actually 4 houses across the towel, in two rows - they are behing the fold.)

And this is the back - with the single image.

Oh - and a very big thanks to Decor8 for the callout as a contributer to the "Inspire Me Givaway". Just wish I had been the big bingo winner in that give-away! The packs just look so refreshing and tasty!!

See You Monday.

Hi Just a quick note to say I am on my way to the beach for a few days... Looking forward to a bit of relaxation time - as my arms ache from painting the ceilings at the new house!

So, have a great week and I'll be back Monday!

Printsy Thursday #6.

Ok - It has been two weeks since my last Printsy Thursday post - and I do feel a little bad - because there are so many wonderful Printsy artists that need to be shown!

My favorite Printsy artist this week is Jennifer of LittleBirdDesigns. How great are these images of household appliances( and the ever elusive cupcake)? They look like they could just start speaking to you. I sometimes feel that my appliances are my friends - when they are working away while I take a sip of my tea... The best is when you can get two working at the same time (oven and washing machine for example). It's the only way I can delegate these days ...

So when I saw Jennifer's work - it really hit a cord with me. Needless to say her images of Scottish fishing villages are right up my alley too - check out this wonderful town. Looks familliar - and really captures the essence of the character of those small towns!

So thanks for looking and if you love your washer as much as I do - pick up a print for the laundry room to let it know!

House with the Red Door.

Wanted to show the progress on my current custom house portrait. I am calling this portrait ( tentitvely) " The House with the Red Door". The owners of this lovely home contacted me via my Etsy shop to inquire about the process of having theirs captured in a lino print. I knew that the house would look great from the first photo I received. It is just so quaint. So her she is, in the first sketch. Hopefully Anne will like the progress - or it can certainly be altered!

Will give another look when the prints are all finished.

Am I green?

Not much crafty to post as I have been spending much of my free time sourcing stuff for the new house. Renovations are moving along well but slowly. We have had to replace more framing that we thought due to most sill- plates ( the very bottom of the wall) being rotten with bug/ rodent infestation (yuck!). Also finding that many of the electric switches and receptacles are not functioning, more replacement of plumbing needed yadda , yadda.....

And then there is the task of making decisions.
I have never really considered myself to be very "green", but as we have been looking to pick finishes and fixtures and systems for the house (from where I never want to move), we have really found some great options that make sense for us and the environment. I hope this is not too boring - I have been so interested in all of the great options out there I thought I would show you what we have decided to use/ do ... so far.

Current Choices:

1. In-floor heating. The house has a slab on grade foundation and floor. This means no basement for any type of storage. It also means that it is a great candidate for in-floor heating. Usually people put tubing down and then pour a layer of concrete on top. I really want bamboo hardwood floors ( yea it has all arrived!)- so we found an alternative that is really great and allows us to layer our new Bamboo flooring on top of the heating tubes using Roth Panels- with even more heat efficiency as the concrete method. (Plus it will save our back and joints from the stress of walking on concrete every day). The real benefits to an in-floor heating system are it saves money and fuel by allowing the "water" in the tubes to be heated at a lower temperature ( about 80 deg.) rather than in radiators (120 deg.).


2. LED retrofit bulbs. This is really cutting edge technology and here is a link to more information. At this point the best option for using LED is purchasing the bulbs and using them in your existing recessed fixtures (can be used in low voltage fixtures y-lighting carries them on-line). I'm sure that in a couple of years there will be recessed fixtures on the market for residential applications - but not yet - alas. LED has a very white light and uses even less energy than the compact fluorescents. I do use fluorescents now but mine cannot be dimmed, LED can, - and I'm not a huge fan of the light fluorescents give off. The LED bulbs last upwards of 15 years - so less in the landfill as well. Learn more from one manufacturer here.


3. Two flush toilet. If anyone has visited overseas - you probably used toilets that have a #1 or #2 flush option. This toilet from Toto (the Aquia) allows you to choose how much water you really need to flush... so you do not use so much when it is not necessary. The little split button is cool looking too!


Long Term Goals:

1. Upgrading all glass to insulated glass. This is a truly large undertaking in this house as most exterior walls are glass - 1400 square feet of it - and it all needs to be replaced. When the house was built they installed plate glass (5' x 8' sheets all in a line around the whole structure and one huge window at 10' x 14' in the center. We are replacing some at this point ( very few) . I have found a temporary solution - by using this material from the Warm Company I will make huge "curtains" that will run on tracks. They will be closed when the sun goes down and magneted to the window frame, on the inside, making things very cozy. My dad joked that we will be living in a giant oven mitt! I don't mind as I think it will really help with the fuel bills this winter.

2. Our biggest future goal is to install a geothermal heating and cooling system. Here is a link explaining how we can get energy from the earth for free. The system for our new house would probably cost about $20,000. When you consider the cost of heating oil for the winter in the North East , however, it really pays for itself in a few years. This cost though, plus the fact that the windows need to be upgraded first to really make the system work, has made us table this biggest and most important project for at least a year (hopefully).

So here I am tonight, looking for recycled glass tiles for the bathroom - and wondering where solar panels would fit....

I'm feeling greener already!

Tea Towels.

I was inspired by Sam at Inklore to make some tea towels. She has her new Etsy shop open - check it out - great job!

So here are a few pics of the towels I printed, using my little house lino in yellow - and one with the tractor. I have another towel with green houses - just haven't put it up in the shop yet. It was very fun to do! I can't wait to get more towels to try more styles and colors.



Oh - and I just saw yesterday that Flowerpress was on the front page with her block printed tea towels! They look so nice - especially with those well worn wooden spoons in the picture.

Inspiration from Iittala

I was lucky enough to have gone on a trip to Helsinki a number of years ago for work (my previous life). These little glass dishes were for sale at the Iittala factory, where I went on a tour and even got to blow some glass. These were for sale in their 2nd hand area. I guess people put things on consignment that are no longer in production. In any case - I just fell in love with these little dishes. I use them as a sugar and creamer.



I also used the pattern as inspiration for the mural I painted on the wall of my little girl's room. She loves it and thanks me for her "garden" all of the time. I am working on some ideas for a new design for her in the new house. So, here are some photos - before the garden has to be painted over.