Custom printed bags

I just finished up the second batch of custom printed bags for a New Zealand Etsian! She requested bags bags like the ones in my shop with her shop's initials.

Printing in a tiny apartment presents a few challenges, thankfully, we have a big coffee table.  Although sitting on the floor is only comfortable for so long.  Here are the bags post-printing and pre-sewing, accompanied by a little WBEZ.

I would like to make a shameless plug for the Pilsen post office: I've only shipped envelopes like the one below from the Pilsen post office twice, but the lady working greeted me cheerfully and and said "it's the stitch lady! I was just telling someone about you the other day, we haven't seen you in a while!"  I shipped envelopes like this from the Uptown post office a few times a week, and no one ever seemed to recognize me.  I love Pilsen!

For the love of letters.

My Aunt and Uncle recently visited my 95 year old Nana in Jersey, and they talked about my senior show, which centered around this handmade alphabet:

Postcards from my Senior Show

My Nana explained to tham that she has always loved practiceing the Palmer Method of handwriting.  She would write the letters on the page horizontally than the rotate the paper vertically and write over the the letters again. She said she could sit at the table doing this for hours.  Looks like my crazy love of letters actually comes from somewhere!

This is a recent sample of her handwriting that she sent home with my Aunt and Uncle to show me. It's beautiful! And it creates a wonderful abstracted pattern. Letters as objects rather than instruments of communication? Love it!

Penmanship of Anne VanHoff

I wikipedia-d the Palmer Method, it's pretty awesome, I think I found my new pastime.  It looks a little more human than the time I tried to teach myself to write in helvetica... yes, I did that once.

We don't really need to talk about it... 

Birthday!

Some 30 second x-acto skills.

This one's for you, Bennett!

Claire's Shower

My sister is getting married in september, and we just threw her a bridal shower! ...perfect opportunity for some serious craft time.   I made just about all the decorations from some vintage wedding wrapping paper ordered from etsy.

invites and recipe cards

pinwheels, triangle vintage wrapping paper bunting, flowers and bright orange furniture.

"B" (for Behm) & heart cookies on our nana's vintage serving tray

 book page flowers, pinwheel and photos

name tags

claire's name tag

Welcome, E.

Hello all, thanks for stopping by!
This blog has been a long time coming, and I'm not promising magic with every visit, just a portion of my world of making.  It will be occasionally interesting, sometimes beautiful, and always tedious.


For my first post it seemed appropriate to show you my screenprint of the E in my banner, so here it is!

I'm interested in design history and in appropriating elements of it in my work.  I took an image from a book of art nouveau designs, altered it to fit around an E and screen printed it in some almost day glow colors.

Art Nouveau design

Sketchbook scan