Return to Archive
New Year, New Nutshell Project: Please Vote
Sent Thursday, January 5, 2012
View as plaintext
Happy 2012, fellow Nuts!
I've said it before, and I'm saying it again: I love a new
start, be it the start of a new year, a new day, a new project, a new adventure.
The slate is clean, materials and ideas are fresh, and possibilities are
endless. Yippee!
"New" is my theme for this month. Among other things, I want to begin
a new Nutshell project, and I want you to help me decide what it will be.
The Inspiration
In December 2010, I up and decided to post
24 quick, inexpensive handmade gift ideas, mostly embroidery-based, on the
Stitching for Literacy blog. I committed to producing one a day from December 1
through 24. I didn't prepare for the adventure beforehand. When I announced my
plan, I didn't have more than a few off-the-top-of-my-head ideas. More than once
during the month, I wondered if I'd be able to meet the challenge---did I
have 24 ideas not too lame to post? Turns out I did.
I want to do something similar here in the Nutshell in 2012. I love forcing myself to be creatively productive. This time, though, I want to do more than come up with ideas: I want to execute them, too. I'm not
promising the projects will all be good, but I will make an effort and share
results, even if results are not especially share-worthy---even if they're utter
failures. Great things can come from great failures. Some of the results, I suspect, will be good, and that's all the motivation I need.
Tags. I've been into stitchy tags for years. Funk &
Weber published Tags for Bags, Clips for Zips in 2006, and if you read my blog
post on whether embroidered bookmarks are relevant in our digital world, you
know I see bookmarks and tags as interchangeable.
Frames. My mother and I framed the first two Funk &
Weber pieces (Termination Dust and The Great Outdoors) ourselves. Mom had
recently taken a framing class, and we were able to use the studio, tools, and
materials for a reasonable price. It was fun, and for someone who likes to do
everything herself, enormously satisfying, despite the inevitable flaws.
However, I can't decide between two project categories. This is
where you can help me---and, even better, join me! Now that I've kinda sorta
figured out how to use SurveyMonkey, we're going to vote on which idea I/we
pursue here in the Nutshell. Don't worry, we'll continue to explore and discuss other ideas, techniques, etc., too. Last year, I got so far off my Nutty track that I actually created an editorial calendar for this year. Really. All twelve months.
Anyhoo...help me decide.
Idea One
Tags. I've been into stitchy tags for years. Funk &
Weber published Tags for Bags, Clips for Zips in 2006, and if you read my blog
post on whether embroidered bookmarks are relevant in our digital world, you
know I see bookmarks and tags as interchangeable. Tags are handy things because they label and identify
objects that might be easily confused. But they can also be tiny reflections of
our creative selves, our signatures or fingerprints that mark the bits and
pieces of our lives, from purses to key rings to cell phones to anything you
can name. (I think I mean this: I challenge you to come up with an object we
can't find a way to tag with an embroidered tag. Remember, I'm not opposed to
glue.)
I would love to expand my stitchy tag repertoire, moving
dangerously close to mixed media.
Idea Two
Frames. My mother and I framed the first two Funk &
Weber pieces (Termination Dust and The Great Outdoors) ourselves. Mom had
recently taken a framing class, and we were able to use the studio, tools, and
materials for a reasonable price. It was fun, and for someone who likes to do
everything herself, enormously satisfying, despite the inevitable flaws. We've also paid hundreds of dollars to have other pieces
framed, and, I hate to say it, but we haven't always been happy with the
results.
So, for many reasons, I'm interested in creative framing I
can do myself or perhaps with Mike's help. (He made the oak frame for Fall, In
Pieces. Betcha didn't know that!) Most likely, I'd wind up making small-sized
frames because I don't currently have a large embroidery in the works, but I'd
try to come up with a couple of large-ish frame ideas. And I'm not talking traditional mat and frame; I'm talking wire, clay, twigs, fabric, who-knows-what.
So, help me out, please, by weighing in on which project category you'd like me to explore here in the Nutshell in 2012. Place your vote here.
That's it for now. I'll e-see you next time.
Jen
PS - We're discussing Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture in the Stitching for Literacy blog. Even if you haven't read the book, I'd love to hear your answers to questions that aren't strictly book-related. But it's a great book, too; I highly recommend it.
Jen
PS - We're discussing Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture in the Stitching for Literacy blog. Even if you haven't read the book, I'd love to hear your answers to questions that aren't strictly book-related. But it's a great book, too; I highly recommend it.
PPS - Did I distract you from placing your vote?
--
Funk & Weber Designs
Mike & Jen Funk Weber
http://www.funkandweber.com
http://StitchingforLiteracy.com
http://www.ArisGarden.com
--
Funk & Weber Designs
Mike & Jen Funk Weber
http://www.funkandweber.com
http://StitchingforLiteracy.com
http://www.ArisGarden.com