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Shauna

Legacy Ear

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Last week I learned of the passing of everyone’s favorite professor and mentor at the University of Hartford Art School, Dennis Nolan. Before he went, his daughter secretly organized one last assignment to his former students and colleagues, which was to draw and submit a small ear. Dennis was very… Read More »Legacy Ear

Summer Colors

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Well I just took all of July off from posting, didn’t I? I did come back August 1st with a finished garment; A bridal jacket, no less. Even though it’s summer, I’ve been very busy with wedding design, gardening, commissions, work, and volunteering. This drought has my lawn looking awful,… Read More »Summer Colors

Bridal Jacket

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The bridal jacket is finished! For now… I started this project well over a year ago when I decided that having a jacket option for an October wedding would be a safe plan. I wanted to have the jacket finished over New Years, but supply-chain issues made getting fabric and… Read More »Bridal Jacket

K-9 Obstacle Course A-Frame

The latest addition to the doggie obstacle course growing in the side yard is a giant A-frame that Jake built. The dogs LOVE it. He found instructions online and built the whole thing by hand out of the garage. Jake spent a whole day sanding to make sure we don’t… Read More »K-9 Obstacle Course A-Frame

Beltane Bridal Shower

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On May Day, my mother, and dear friends and bride’s matrons threw me the most beautiful Beltane Bridal Shower. I have been walking on air for days reading over everyone’s heartfelt cards, and unpacking a generous mountain of gifts. We had a perfect day of sunny warm weather after a… Read More »Beltane Bridal Shower

K-9 Obstacles

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Jake has been very slowly working on an obstacle course for the dogs. While progress has stalled on the ramp, two weeks ago during a dedicated home-improvement weekend, he finished the hurdles. Made from PVC with adjustable cradles, the bars come off very easily if a dog were to bump them… Read More »K-9 Obstacles

Painting Bookshelves

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Our neighbors are moving and sold us two solid-pine bookshelves for the dining room. This room has always echoed, and the addition of some new many-sided furniture has helped tremendously. The plan was to paint the shelves white to match the baseboards, so last weekend as temperatures warmed up I… Read More »Painting Bookshelves

Guest Project: Bird Houses

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I did not make these bird houses, but I like to think that I facilitated their construction by fostering a creative environment. When we bought our house four years ago, there were some old and heavily-used bird houses mounted to the side of the old shed. Over the years I… Read More »Guest Project: Bird Houses

Quiet Photographs

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I want to share some more photos with you from our shoot at Purgatory Chasm because I am so in love with them all. Today I have a small presentation of the black and white images from the collection. Black and white photos change the way I experience time. Personally,… Read More »Quiet Photographs

So Many Doilies

Doilies. I’m very happy crocheting my less-than-perfect doilies. Like coloring in a mandala, round and round in meditative fashion.

Art With Pride

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My next design campaign for Artworks Westfield is for a Queer Pride show this June. Fairly self-explanatory, this show is meant to highlight LGBTQIA+ artists and LGBTQIA+ causes. I got to use our new logo, fonts, and color pallet but applied in a completely different style from the last show… Read More »Art With Pride

Shower Décor: Welcome Sign

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Another homemade detail for my upcoming bridal shower: a Welcome Sign. Made of decoupage flowers, herbs, and paint on MDF board, this sign saw several revisions as I experimented with medium and color. I collected herbs and flowers from my garden before the hard frost last year and arranged them… Read More »Shower Décor: Welcome Sign

ArtiCulture Campaign

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My first design campaign for Artworks Westfield is for their Spring exhibition ‘ArtiCulture.’ My top priority as a new board member of this local non-profit is to achieve a cohesive visual brand identity. As such I have designed these promotional materials pro-bono to promote the experience of the arts within… Read More »ArtiCulture Campaign

Crafty Crochet Bunting

This weekend I completed an ongoing piece of party décor that I’ve been chipping away at in my spare time. A crocheted bunting made with free yarn, the best kind of yarn. My learning-how-to-crochet journey has really stalled out at doilies, tassels, and garlands because for the most part I… Read More »Crafty Crochet Bunting

Foraging Vest

This week on weird things my husband asks me to sew for him, a foraging vest. Specifically, a mushroom foraging vest. Last fall, in the expansive opportunity of a ‘don’t-socialize-inside’ mentality, Jake started researching how to identify and forage for edible native fungi. After months of research and starting with… Read More »Foraging Vest

Silk Nightgown with Train

I take my leisure-wear very seriously. Considering I don’t leave the house much working from home and navigating a pandemic, it makes sense that more and more of my wardrobe is becoming house-clothes. This January I’m focusing on wrapping up unfinished projects around the house before making way for the… Read More »Silk Nightgown with Train

Purgatory Chasm

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Happy Winter Solstice. The changing of the year is a wonderful time for reflection. Especially useful in this prolonged time of great uncertainty, change, and fear. I’ve been reading a lot more than I’ve been making, and that’s been a part of my personal reflection. Spending time with topics that… Read More »Purgatory Chasm

A Stocking for Nimbus

Welcome to the family, Nimbus, who just turned six months old. His first Christmas approaching, I sewed him a stocking to match the rest of the family from scraps leftover from two years past. He’s been with us since August, but with every monogramed accessory or matching training aid, it… Read More »A Stocking for Nimbus

Apron-Making Mood

In the fall we harvest. We pickle, we can, we freeze. All winter, it’s baking. What garment helps with all that more than any other? An apron, of course. I’m in an apron-making mood. They are all my favorite sewing projects in one: utilitarian, good for scraps, all rectangles. If… Read More »Apron-Making Mood

Crochet Crazy Doilies

Still working my way through a box of yarn, this time, making ‘rustic’ doilies. I started out with a pattern or two, but found that my gauge and the author’s were not matching up, which results of course in a not-very-flat doily. I therefore abandoned the patterns and struck out… Read More »Crochet Crazy Doilies

Ugly Crochet Produce Bag

First actual project of my learn-how-to-crochet journey complete! I made a draw-string produce bag out of some low-quality medium weight yarn, not suitable for garments or anything I really want to last. The yarn broke a lot while stitching, so I have a lot of random knots tied into this… Read More »Ugly Crochet Produce Bag

Beachy Kaftan Robe

Boy, what a summer it’s been, right? Heat waves, flooding, thunderstorms, wind and cold? Not exactly the summer we were all hoping for in the United States after over a year in lockdown. In between raindrops, we did manage to spend a few hours on the beach. Ok, sometimes we… Read More »Beachy Kaftan Robe

Giant Beach Bag

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I am planning a trip to the beach for the first time in years. Having just thrown out a decade’s old beach tote that was collecting a smell, there was a hole in my arsenal of bags waiting to be filled. I’d been saving a yard of gorgeous printed cotton… Read More »Giant Beach Bag

Late Spring Check-in, 2021

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Those of you that follow this blog regularly may have noticed that I’ve been taking a break from posting. I’m taking some time to reconnect with myself while the pandemic slowly loosens its grip (on the US anyway), and society prepares for a monumental shift. I’ve mostly been spending my… Read More »Late Spring Check-in, 2021

Sunset Sail

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We got a small tease of spring before plunging back into below-freezing highs, prompting me to paint another wish for warmer weather. This tiny watercolor was supposed to be less of a burden to finish in it’s diminutive format; a relaxing way to pass time with my hands I won’t… Read More »Sunset Sail

Endurance, a Winter Landscape

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Thank you for rejoining me in 2021 after my short New Year’s hiatus from blogging. After posting every single week of 2020, I thought I deserved a little time off to recharge and set some new goals. I’m heading into 2021 with loads of painting goals, but gentle ones. To… Read More »Endurance, a Winter Landscape

Gingerbread Cottage

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In the past my workplace has hosted departmental gingerbread house decorating contests around the holidays, but this year, no one has been in the office in several months. So instead they sent the gingerbread kits home to us. The rules stipulate that anyone in our households could help, but only… Read More »Gingerbread Cottage

Christmas Quilted Bone Pillow

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My dog seriously loves pillows. We let her use the human couch pillows, but she is very aware of what things are specifically hers and which things are shared. She loves her beds and pillows and looks so cute using them. After sewing Tovi a new Christmas coat from fleece, I… Read More »Christmas Quilted Bone Pillow

Christmas Coat for the Dog

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I made Tovi a new winter coat for the holidays and she is being very dramatic about trying it on for the first time; how dare I make her something long and warm, especially with a high collar to keep the wind off her neck! I’m still working my way… Read More »Christmas Coat for the Dog

Eloping in 2020

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Surprise, we got married! In a terrible year of pain and loss, we took back space for a joyful event and made our commitment official. Unlike other couples who saw their wedding dreams dashed by covid, our wedding happened as it did because of covid. When Jake proposed over Labor… Read More »Eloping in 2020

Home-brew Mead Recipe and Results

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I have conquered quarantine level: make your own alcohol. My home-brew mead turned out fantastic; way tastier than the cough-syrup served at commercial renaissance fairs. For months of backstory, you can read all these posts: A Mead-Making Journey Home-Brew Mead Round 2 Even More Mead! With Maple! Otherwise, we’re going to jump… Read More »Home-brew Mead Recipe and Results

FAMILY PLAGUE FAIR 2020

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It’s here! It’s here! The post on Family Plague Fair 2020. I know you’ve all been waiting anxiously for weeks for the inside scoop on this pandemic renaissance festival. As many of you who follow this blog already know, devastated by the cancellation of the 2020 renaissance fair season, my… Read More »FAMILY PLAGUE FAIR 2020

House Allen Banner

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Even before the engagement, I decided that Jake and I needed our own house standard for Plague Fair. Being a very crafty covid-cohort, several houses in attendance would be carrying them. A standard or war banner is a flag depicting a house-identifier such as a sigil, pattern, symbol or color… Read More »House Allen Banner

Formal Beard Mask

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I made Jake a formal beard mask to exactly match a suit for a very special occasion. How did I match it exactly? The suit came unhemmed so I had to chop about 5 inches off the bottom of each pant leg for him. This left barely enough fabric to make… Read More »Formal Beard Mask

Chicken Masks

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Remember that eggpron I made for a friend with chickens? I had just a little bit of leftover fabric from that project, so I’m surprising her and her partner with matching chicken masks. I also made Jake and myself some, because there was enough for four masks, and my generosity… Read More »Chicken Masks