WREN handmade

cat bed

This may be a little ridiculous but I made Maggie a cat bed. I bought this doll bed at Ikea, painted it white, covered a foam pad and made a duvet cover. To make the duvet I used some feathers from a down pillow I had around. A little messy but if you do it in a cardboard box it's not too bad. I hope she likes it!

Remember when she was this little?

 

Singer 337

I borrowed my mom's sewing machine recently for a photo shoot. Isnt' it cool? I always loved it. I found a blog that reviewed that model, he said it was only made in 1964 and '65. My basic Singer is okay but they just don't make sewing machines like they used to.

A few dolls

I have been working on some dolls for a special order. Also, lately I've been looking for vintage doll books (PDF versions) online. Here is a great source.

Louise Bourgeois

One of the artists that has most inspired me is Louise Bourgeois. I still often think back to a cloth book "Ode a L'Oubli" that I saw exhibited several years back. The imagery and craftsmanship was so beautiful. The NY times did an article on the process of recreating an edition of 25 from Louise's original. The original cloth book was made from bits and scraps of old linens and garments and the printmakers painstakingly recreated each stitch and even the stains. It's an amazing accomplishment. I am actually inspired by Louise Bourgeois' entire body of work.

New Beginnings

After more that 11 years I have left Martha Stewart Living magazine. I have made all sorts of craft projects over the years and feel fortunate to have learned from the best. The publishing industry is having a tough time and I now know how the economic crisis is affecting our family. I am extremely hopeful and excited though for what lies ahead. For one thing, this blog, which I will now be able to tend to more frequently and with renewed energy. I will also be having an Etsy shop update very soon and will post about that on here. 

Here is a pegboard project from many years ago in Living. It's very handy for tools and papers, labels and the like. I mounted a piece of cut pegboard that was painted white into a store bought plain frame and hung. I used those little clips for framing to secure the board in the frame.

More crochet necklaces in progress...

And a doll sweater for a special order...