an art show (THE SHOW) and smallwoods winners!

jamie & i have been working on getting new pieces ready for an art show this weekend, specifically:

THE SHOW
saturday, oct 3
5 -10 pm
woodrow hall
5504 1st ave n

i hope you'll join us!

and without further ado, the following people should be expecting a smallwoods package in the mail... jessi, shiloh, mia, blair, and kevin. congratulations! please send your snail mail address to me at tamaradean{at}gmail{dot}com -- i'll be working on some things to send out in the next couple of weeks. and if you dig, pay it forward!

cheers!

weekend report

a little work at koko, a little prep for an art show (more about that tomorrow)... and plenty of playtime.

cheerio time...

wii party with ollie man...

lots... and lots... and lots of scooting around...

and quality time with the great-grands...

how was your weekend?

oh and don't forget to enter in the smallwoods giveaway if you'd like to join in the fun! i'll post the winners tuesday, september 29.

welcome wagon

this past february, a dear friend gave me a cd.

the welcome wagon's welcome to the welcome wagon
photo from asthmatickitty.com

isaiah was about a month old at the time. the cd became an important part of a nightly ritual: a little background music during bathtime in the kitchen sink.

isaiah, 6 weeks old
photo by caleb chancey

at the time, isaiah couldn't hold up his head on his own. we'd encourage him to splash but he would mostly just look around, inspecting the faucet and the washcloth.

plenty of room to dry off on the countertop.
photo by caleb chancey

after listening to this wonderful cd every night for several weeks, we took it out of rotation. in its stead, we enjoyed some miles davis, sufjan, thelonius monk, etc. but in recent weeks, the welcome wagon made its way back to the mix -- for the first time since february. it immediately brought back memories of when isaiah was that 5-pound newborn, sitting contentedly in the sink.

one favorite on the cd is the following hymn, which has a seriously cool trombone chorus going on. and the lyrics serve as a theme for our little family.

"unless the Lord the house shall build"
by vito aiuto
lead sheet available here

unless the Lord the house shall build, the weary builders toil in vain
unless the Lord the city shield, the guards a useless watch maintain
in vain you rise ere morning break, and late your nightly vigils keep
and of the bread of toil partake, God gives to his beloved sheep

lo, children are the gift of God, and sons the blessing He commands
these, when in youthful days bestowed, are like the shafts in warriors hands
and happy they whose quivers bear full store of arrors such as these
they in the gate are free from fear, and boldly face their enemies

pay it forward - a smallwoods giveaway!

i absolutely love getting special packages in the mail.

this past weekend, i was especially excited to receive a really lovely parcel in the mail from hanna of craftykin. hanna posts unique inspirations of crafts, cooking and vintage designs, as well as amazing pictures of her adorable kids and home at a farm in beautiful new zealand. (swoon!) enjoy her blog here.

an easy no-knead bread recipe along with three hand-made lovelies: a brooch of vintage materials, a tea-towel sack, and a sewn notebook.

so i'm happy to announce a little giveaway! it's my turn to send packages to 5 readers. to play along in the pay-it-forward fun, just leave a comment. facebook comments are welcome, too.

if you're chosen, then pay it forward by sending 5 special packages to whomever you like! nothing fancy -- just small tokens to brighten someone's day.

i'll collect all comments on any posts now through monday, september 28. i'll announce the winners on tuesday the 29th.

cheers!

weekend report

another beautiful grey weekend involving koko bubble tea, mario kart, church, and even some yardwork, which i thoroughly enjoyed. i broke in a pair of clippers that jamie got for me last week.

i also took home some great finds from the consignment sale, including...

a $6 stroller...

and a $1 piano.

we played some mah jongg and enjoyed an amazing dinner at nanny & g'daddy's...

i finally got around to hanging up more of jamie's artwork...

and i began working on a small craft project i've been wanting to get to for ages.

how was your weekend?

first time mamas -- consignment shopping

when i was pregnant, i was introduced to the magical world of consignment sales.

i'm not talking about thrift stores. i'm talking magically appearing and disappearing, huge, amazing sales that pop up in churches and empty grocery store spaces that are here and gone within a few days. there are a lot of them in the birmingham area around this time of year as well as the spring. the one i usually go to is riverchase united methodist's TNT sale -- it's this weekend!

anyone else have a favorite consignment sale?

mr. fox brand products update

the wonderful gray weather has me in the mood for long walks, hot tea, and tidying up the nest. my list of domestic chores included updating the mr. fox brand store.

chocolate hoot

i've cleaned up the logo a bit and restocked some things. hand-sewn hoots are available in new colors (chocolate, gold, and dark purple) -- and original artwork (drawn by jamie and watercolored by me) have been re-posted. check it out -- i'd love to hear what you think!

weekend report

artwalk was really fun. thanks SO much to everyone who came out to support jamie.
it was a really encouraging experience for us both. also, he was awarded judge's mention!

we learned that necklaces are great for teething. until they break...

we enjoyed having family in town...

lots of out-of-control laughter...

and a mario kart upgrade...

how was your weekend?

artwalk is here!

artwalk is tonight (friday) from 5-10 pm and tomorrow (saturday) from noon-6 pm. stop by the lindsey office furniture building to see jamie's work! he would love to see you and get some in-person feedback. his emphasis for the show is fine art pieces. also, the following prints will be available for sale:

walking house - 8" x 10"

the secret and the spirit - 11" x 14"

hope to see you there! thanks so much for your support.

weekend report

hanging out

scooting around

a lovely wedding

a farewell party for chip at koko

bruschetta

labor day basketball... harper: 3; rachels: 300.

smallwoods art club

coughy the mouse, sting, and jamie are pretty active in the smallwoods art club. i'm in the club, too... but coughy is kind of an art club snob and thinks that my arts & crafts aren't really serious enough. the thing is that i know coughy wouldn't even last a day at the smallwoods arts & crafts center. hmph.

anyway, here's a new illustration that jamie finished this week. i like it a lot.

walking house by jamison harper

right now, we're trying to get our ducks in a row with artwalk (sept 11-12), but jamie will feature illustrative pieces like this one in the show at woodlawn on oct 3.

also: jamie was just accepted to behance and began putting a few pieces on there last night. shout out to kevin for pointing him in that direction. we've been in desperate need of an online portfolio in a flash format. check it out HERE and check back for poster designs & illustration updates.

i'm excited about all these things and way proud of him.

smallwoods cinema: what ever happened to baby jane?

the smallwoods cinema is showing a creepy one this week: what ever happened to baby jane? (1962). this one is distrubing, folks!

bette davis as baby jane hudson
source: www.twolia.com/blogs/i-am-not-kidding/2009/04/

and joan crawford as blanche hudson

source: kingdomofstyle.typepad.co.uk/.../page/2/

a cross between psycho (1960) and sunset boulevard (1950), baby jane is a delightfully tormenting example of film noir. (is all film noir like that?) all three are low-budget films shot in black and white, set in strange old houses -- and you find yourself horrified and yet strangely sympathetic toward the protagonist.

the cinematography is pretty genius, although director robert aldrich didn't quite master it with every shot as hitchcock could. but the lighting, makeup, costume, and camera angles were all used very effectively, especially, for example, in portraying the duplicity of davis's character -- sometimes a menacing psychopath, and sometimes a little girl who sings, "i've written a letter to daddy." that song provides a melodic theme for the film's score, which is also effective -- reflecting the creepy mood throughout.

i decided against trying to cleverly write out the plot for two reasons:

1. it would kind of ruin the reputation i've got going here -- you know, reviewing movies without describing any of the plot, and,
2. it's way better to watch this one unfold instead of reading about it.

i will say, though, that the script is cleverly written, and -- much like a hitchcock film -- not without a bit of humor to provide a little room to breathe between all the nail-biting suspense.

oh, and apparently davis and crawford were a bit like jennifer anniston and angelina jolie of the 60's. except way older. there was some serious drama between these two divas. as if to settle the score: while crawford's role was important, i must say that davis steals the show. she really threw herself into the grotesque role and was amazing in every moment that she was on screen.

overall, 4 out of 5 stars! i may have to watch this one again on halloween. either that or the sequel: hush, hush sweet charlotte (1964). it's not really the sequel but it might as well be -- bette davis stars! i haven't seen that one yet. have you?