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The End of Rispok Factory Week

6/29/2011

My week of über-productivity is complete! I finished nearly everything I set out to, and a few things I didn't, so I guess it's a win all around. The following is a tour of the products I finished this week. Many of them can be found on my etsy page and all of them will be at the summer Craftacular in Madison, WI, July 24.

Zipper Pouches

These are so multi-functional as to be difficult to classify or name properly. They measure approx 9" by 5", perfect for pens and pencils, cosmetics, toiletries, they even fit a Kindle! I use one to keep all my business finances/receipts in order and they make absolutely great unisex gifts, sure to please anyone and everyone!

Wallets

These little fellas are so fresh off the press they still NEED to be pressed! They will be pressed flat and have a handy fold put in them, a perfect fit for your back pocket. There is a big pocket for cash and 4 pockets for cards and enough style for even the fanciest of pants. For a look at one that is ready to go, check out my etsy page.

Billfolds

These sweet billfolds are also still waiting to be pressed- turns out I only had enough time to get my ironing OR a post done and well, I chose you. This was the very first product I designed, because I wanted one for myself, although I am now a total convert to the tiny pouch. The more baby stuff I have to carry around, the less of my own stuff I want to haul...
Anyway, the billfold can be used like a wallet- it has one big pocket for cash and a slightly shorter pocket for cards or anything else you like. They also make excellent checkbook covers- my husband keeps all his money, cards, AND checkbook in his. I don't have any of these on my etsy page at the moment as I've been out of stock for a while, but that will change soon!

Tiny Pouches

The tiny pouch is my latest and greatest fused plastic product, and possibly my favorite at the moment. It is the perfect size for IDs, credit cards, and some folded up cash- so totally wallet-able! It also makes a super fab business card case or change purse. I manage to cram ALL SORTS of stuff in mine. At $6 a pop, I'm thinking these babies are priced to sell, so I'm going to whip up a few more in the next few days.

Front Yard Picnic!

My mother, who's been here for a week, thus enabling Rispok Factory Week by playing with the baby 5, left for home this afternoon. No tears for once, but it's always hard to say good bye. Yesterday we stocked up on good times though with a picnic in the front yard! No easy feat as nearly all of our front yard is IN the picture above...

The last few days have brought some delightful adventures as 5 is developing his eating skills. We're doing baby-led solids, which means that we don't do any "baby food" or purees or anything (check out this book to learn more). So far it's been so easy and fun (so much less work for me, although plenty of cleanup) and 5 has loved everything he's tried- banana, sweet potato, cucumber, raw red onion (!), broccoli, cauliflower, red bell pepper, avocado, and carrots (both steamed and raw)!

As much as 5 loves/demands my undivided attention, he LOVES his Oma, and is certainly going to be missing her in the next few days. We miss you already Oma!

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A Weekend of Play and Back to Work

6/27/2011

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Work Time

My parents came up in the middle of last week and my Mom is here just a few days more. She has undertaken the arduous task of playing with the baby while I frantically try to get as MUCH WORK DONE as possible! You can see that they are both a little worn out from all the fun...
By the time she leaves on Wednesday, I'm hoping to have billfolds, and wallets, and pouches, and coin purses, oh my! I should have a product-erific photo for my next post.

Play Time at Lake Superior

photo by TR Loon

While my parents were here, we took them out to Lake Superior to (kind of) see the sunset. It was far too cloudy to enjoy any sunset action, but we did get a few nice photos of us as a family (of which we have precious few), and the boys were brave enough to test the CHILLY water.

Play Time at Hungarian Falls

photo by TR Loon

At Hungarian Falls the next day, my husband attempted to give me a heart attack. Luckily, there were lots of other beautiful things to see so I could just ignore them...
Five, as you can see, was neither bothered nor excited by all this thrilling endangerment. He seems to have figured us out pretty well already. Dad seems like a nut job, but he won't ACTUALLY throw babies over the waterfall. At least not until they can swim.

What kind of summer adventure plans are you making?

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The Life of a Gerber Baby

6/24/2011

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5's First Modeling Shoot

Five began what I hope will be a short and relaxed modeling career today.
No, I did not take him to some kind of cattle call with designer overalls on.
We were asked to be in a photo shoot for a marketing campaign for downtown Hancock, (and by "we", they really meant "the baby").
We were modeling enthusiasm for art.
It was not very difficult as we both have been known to enjoy some art...
Here we are standing in front of some of MY products at the art center in downtown Hancock.
I had so much faith that 5 would be great that, as you can see, I did not even bother to fancy myself up...

Turns Out, Modeling is Exhausting

5's cuteness reserves were nearly depleted by the exhausting 15 minutes we spent being "models".
He tried to recharge by surrounding himself with his toys, but even that didn't work.
Eventually he came to the realization that he would have to take a nap.

Pizza Cures Everything

Since Mom and Dad don't take naps (usually), we made pizzas to help us recharge. I made myself one with my fake tomato sauce. It looked so pretty halfway through assembly I had to share it.

Join me next week for a easy peasy, fancy shmancy pants tutorial!
Enjoy your weekend!

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Fancy Pants and Imaginary Tea Parties

6/22/2011

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My Ceramic Markers Arrived!

My ceramic markers from Dick Blick arrived a few days ago and I have wasted NO time in testing them out! The very first test was very first-test-like, so I'm not going to show it to you, but here is my second test!
I'm super pleased with the result- they are easy to use and make a nice line. It's drying now, so I don't know if it's going to be dishwasher-safe like it says it will... but I'll let you know. It's been crazy rainy this week, leading to all kinds of indoor projects. There will probably be MANY more tests yet this week.
I'm imagining entire tea parties sipping from these sweet little Nordic-looking teacups. They will all be different, but somehow all belong together and we will look like something out of one of those expensive European ambiguous lifestyle magazines.
It's a lovely dream.
You may notice that this teacup coordinates perfectly with that out of focus blob in the background. That is my treasured Marimekko throw pillow and yes, it is one of the reasons I like to design with red and blue.

Fancy Pants

This evening we went to a fiber-themed art opening. So, naturally, 5 needed some new clothes. He had to be able to dress the part of a fiber nerd's son! The shirt is not new- I dyed it before he was born and printed it for his half-birthday, but the boy needed some fancy pants...
This lovely little paisley number was at one time the sleeves to a large women's turtleneck. The bottom of the body got turned into a miniskirt for me (no I am not such an embarrassing mom that I made us match), the top got turned into bibs, and the sleeves are now pants for my too-cool-for-school babe.

He looks absolutely smashing if I do say so myself. For the reception, my husband added an olive green, quilted, tough-guy vest. He looked like the Stay-Puft marshmallow man and Beck's love child. In a good way.
This was the third pair of pants I've made for him and it's gotten easier each time. These looked just perfect. I think I'm finally ready to write that tutorial now...

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Today

6/20/2011

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Reconnecting

Today is a day for me to remind my baby that he only has to share my attention SOMETIMES.

We will remember that it is SO MUCH FUN to spend time with cousins and aunties and uncles and grandparents that it can take some recovery time afterward.

I will put away my projects and products and UN-DIVIDE my attention.

We will snuggle, and we will read books, and I will walk and bounce you endlessly when you are crabby, and I will remember that this moment with you is worth more than all my "productive" moments combined.

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Fun and Games in the Studio

6/17/2011

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The elves in the Rispok studio (read: ME) have been BUSY this week, preparing for the Summer Craftacular in Madison coming up in July! The dwindling number of weeks until the event kind of just struck me, so I rallied the troops and got my bum in gear!

A Bevy of Braided Beauties

My etsy shop has gone a bit quiet, due to show prep, and will likely remain so until August. Luckily, it is pretty well stocked...

I whipped up a good-sized batch of my repurposed Tshirt bracelets first thing because it's ALWAYS good to start with something that will give me a quick sense of accomplishment. I LOVE making these and I'm always so pleased with the results. I couldn't finish as many as I had planned, I unexpectedly ran out of one of my hardware bits. Oh well, I guess I can wait two weeks to get the last few done...

Wheel of Bibs

I did baby bibs as well! For the first week of ramped-up production, I chose products that already had some prep work done. I had a small stack of jersey rectangles ready to be cut into bib shape. Turns out, I think all babies should be wearing more paisley. Some of them are turned to the reverse side, but almost half of these bibs have a paisley side! Not sure what that's about...

Product Tags!

Just a few weeks ago, I received my very own rispok stamp! Now my products can tell you where they're from, hoooray! This stamp is so tiny and perfect, I just want to stamp everything with it.

Box Bags Galore

One of the new products debuting at this craft show is the lovely lined box bag! I'm thrilled to finally have a bunch of these, I've been meaning to make them for a while. The outside is mostly remnant or scrap upholstery fabric and they're lined with mainly repurposed button-down shirt fabric. They also have the brand new rispok tags inside!

Cuffs Cuffs Cuffs

Ok, I didn't quite finish the cuffs. They still need the finishing touches and the extra button, but they're so close! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this batch, the shirt fabrics are so great.

While Mama's Sewing

Little Five is clearly not having fun with Dad while Mom is trying to get some work done...

Have a great weekend!

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On Our Table

6/15/2011

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"Farm Boy Five"

We have nearly accepted that our vegetable garden is simply not going to happen this year, so we're just going to teach our son to LOOK like a farmer....
Today I'm going to share the recipes to all the food on our table this week, not just the recipes I created. Enjoy!

Springtime Breakfast Muesli

yThis muesli is my new favorite warm-weather breakfast. It requires soaking overnight, which is difficult for me to remember, but everything else about it is super easy. It is from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day, and I am not so patiently waiting for Amazon to send me my copy- this recipe can be found in the "look inside" feature.
The muesli this week is served with rhubarb sauce. Yum! It is so simple to make, it's just 4 Cups sliced rhubarb, 1 Cup sugar, 4 Tbs butter brought to a boil and simmered until sauce-like (about 10 min). This sauce is good on everything though, so make extra.

Non-Processed Macaroni Salad

My husband grew up in the land of processed picnic foods drenched in mayonnaise and I grew up rather ignorant of them, so it is a constant struggle in our house for me to recreate these foods in a way that big Fred can tolerate. You can find the recipe to my version here.

Sweet Potato Falafels

That's right, I said "sweet potato falafels". They are SO GOOD! This is a recipe I found on Heidi Swanson's blog 101 Cookbooks. Even though I have 0 Heidi Swanson cookbooks, I still managed to eat from her repertoire this week. We enjoyed our falafel with garlicky hummus and cucumber slices on a pita (for Fred) or tortilla (for me, darn yeasted pitas!).

Hope your week is as tasty as ours!

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Project Lust

6/13/2011

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Nap Captain

All of a sudden this past weekend, 5 can nap without me beneath him. Yay hooray! I certainly never minded, but oh my can I get some stuff done now! I COULD have a clean house with washed dishes and such, or I COULD do all of these projects! (which do you think it will be?) Click on the pictures to go to the original tutorial or project idea.

For My Loved Ones

I saw these on Craftgawker via ticketyboo a while back and thought they were fantastic. The shop that was making them doesn't appear to have them any more, but I thought perhaps I could make some of these instead of cards! We have excellent vintage hankie resources here...

For My Sweetheart

My husband is not particularly sentimental, but he does love maps (and I AM sentimental!) The company that does these bespoke map hearts does absolutely gorgeous work, but of course I am thinking about how I can make it myself, changing it to be something that is just ours...

For the Babe (in about 2 years!)

Made by Joel is the coolest blog for kid projects. I LOVE this alphabet game (alphabet not pictured), but I also want to make everything on his site! He and his wife just (just!) had a new baby and I can't wait to see the new things he starts making!

Embroidery! By Both Hand and Machine

This is a project by the lovely ladies of Prints Charming that I have written about before here from last Christmas. It reminds me that I WANT TO DO EMBROIDERY! I have dabbled a bit, but I'm always drawn to embroidered textiles and it doesn't really have to be some complicated. Perhaps I can share here just what can be embroidered during a nap.

I also have read the embroidery section of my sewing machine's owners manual about 100 times now. It is time to jump in. This etsy seller, aewilder, does beautiful, simple work. I'm not sure if she uses a machine or not, but I would strive for a line quality like this. I also love her custom project ideas. Something to commemorate a birth or other meaningful event- what a perfect opportunity for something lovely and hand made?

Three-Pronged Lamp Project

I thought this lamp was awfully cute, and the DIY didn't sound TOO impossible, but if I'm going to make it, I will definitely need to complicate it a bit..

I can't just buy thrifted tea cups and use them as is! I think I will have to draw on them with porcelain markers first, like Lotta Jansdotter did with the cup and saucer above.

Lastly, I couldn't possibly just BUY a lampshade I like- I will have to re-cover one I can find! If I ever finish this trifecta, I will be sure to share it here!

What are you doing with your free time this Summer?

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Heirlooms

6/10/2011

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This week I made a little blankie for 5 and it got me thinking about heirlooms, and family, and family heirlooms...

My son, already the blooming fiberphile (yes, that's a made up word), has been getting into my fabric and the laundry and my knitting like crazy! Most of it I don't mind- he can chew on his dad's (clean) boxer shorts all day for all I care- but I thought perhaps he needs some more of his very OWN.
When I was organizing (and reorganizing) my studio space, I found a lot of samples I had made. It should be said that I am a sampler. Any project that requires a new skill or technique, I ALWAYS do a sample first. This makes my projects turn out better, but I'm left with all these samples! What to do with them? I can't throw them away, but they're not terribly useful either.
I figured 5 would happily love, or chew, or destroy, lots of my samplings, so I grabbed a handful of crochet samples and stitched them together!

He's enjoyed it quite a bit since I've finished, but I think he liked it better when there was a ball of yarn and a crochet hook attached.

It got me thinking about our "nice" baby things and the often junkier baby things that we use every day. The beautiful, or hand-crafted, or expensive, or family heirloom type things that we love, but would rather not get poop all over.
In the past month or two I've started making a conscious effort to really USE our nice things. Part of the whole point of having them is for our sweet baby to be in an environment where everything MEANS something. For him to grow up knowing that less can be more, when it means you have beautiful things that somebody lovingly made, rather than plastic crap made overseas.

Of course, at the same time, I don't want to ruin our nice things either. I'd like them to be there for any other children we have, and maybe even our grandchildren...

How do you deal with "nice" things vs "everyday" things?

Case in point- this gorgeous blanket originally belonged to my eldest uncle over 60 years ago. It was passed down to each of his siblings, and then to each of their children, and now, to mine. When I was four months pregnant, my aunt gave it to me and told me the story and I was overwhelmed by the thought of so many sweet babes, over so many decades, being wrapped up cozy in this one blanket.

I'm not traditional in the traditional sense of the word (ha!), but I LOVE family traditions. Although, perhaps that's because we don't have all that many and my family has always been willing to chuck it if it's not fun...
I love thinking about the traditions we are and will be creating for our own little family and incorporating some of the lovely ones we already have.

What are some of your family's favorite traditions?

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Things I Start to Think About When it Gets Hot

6/8/2011

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Anyone who has seen a picture of my son (and that would be about half the planet by now- thanks mom) would probably agree that he has a complexion in the porcelain family. Now that we are having the kind of weather that encourages (ok demands) that one spend hours upon hours out-of-doors, this said complexion is concerning to me.
I find that even on the briefest walks (like 7 minutes to the coop), by the time we get home he has formed tan lines in his arm folds. No burns yet, but I need to form some strategies ASAP!

My Porcelain Babe

Obviously sunblock will play a huge role in our lives in later years, but I'm a bit nervous covering him in anything that's not supposed to go in his mouth, since that's where EVERYTHING goes...

This past weekend, my husband came up with a fairly inspired solution, we took him camping! No, not really. He set up a tent in the front yard so 5 could safely play outside while Dad worked on his bike and Mom read in the sun. The only drawback is that it's nearly impossible to set the tent up if you are alone, like I am all day during the week, and we can't leave it up all the time (for various reasons, not the least of which the spider colony it would become if it were ever out of my sight).

How do you protect your little ones from the sun?

Mmmmm Summer Tacos!

The second our average temperature gets above freezing I start thinking Summer food- lemonade, homemade popsicles, sandwiches, picnics, cold salads with grains, the list goes on...
This week I made Summer tacos, so simple, so easy! Today I'm posting my recipe for the Mexican slaw that separates these from all other tacos for all other seasons. I've been catching the big Fred sneaking extra spoonfuls all week, so I recommend you make a little extra...

click the picture to go the recipe

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<<Previous

Zipper Pouches

Wallets

Billfolds

Tiny Pouches

Front Yard Picnic!

Work Time

Play Time at Lake Superior

Play Time at Hungarian Falls

What kind of summer adventure plans are you making?

5's First Modeling Shoot

Turns Out, Modeling is Exhausting

Pizza Cures Everything

Join me next week for a easy peasy, fancy shmancy pants tutorial!Enjoy your weekend!

My Ceramic Markers Arrived!

Fancy Pants

Reconnecting

A Bevy of Braided Beauties

Wheel of Bibs

Product Tags!

Box Bags Galore

Cuffs Cuffs Cuffs

While Mama's Sewing

Have a great weekend!

"Farm Boy Five"

Springtime Breakfast Muesli

Non-Processed Macaroni Salad

Sweet Potato Falafels

Hope your week is as tasty as ours!

Nap Captain

For My Loved Ones

For My Sweetheart

For the Babe (in about 2 years!)

Embroidery! By Both Hand and Machine

Three-Pronged Lamp Project

What are you doing with your free time this Summer?

How do you deal with "nice" things vs "everyday" things?

What are some of your family's favorite traditions?

My Porcelain Babe

How do you protect your little ones from the sun?

Mmmmm Summer Tacos!

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Join me next week for a easy peasy, fancy shmancy pants tutorial!
Enjoy your weekend!