my hero?

You can watch this and shop here.

How to make your own natural floral crown

Hello and happy Saturday! I just read this beautiful how to this morning on how to make your own head wreath using natural flowers on the Etsy wedding blog. It was so lovely I just have to share it with you. Learn how to here! Enjoy! -hil

The beautiful photo above is by Brittany Watson Jepsen and Amanda Thomsen via the Etsy wedding blog.

Sourcebooks and their importance for artists

I want to talk about finding sources this week. Sources are important for artists and craftspeople; they spur on the creative mind and offer tools to accomplish it's vision. Therefore I think it's safe to say that searching out a good source is a worthy use of one's time, and once you've found a good one it's often a spring that can be visited again and again without running dry. One of the most valuable places to find this? A book.

A sourcebook is any book that you use in your work, whether it's as a drawing reference or for clip art in your graphics. It can also be a book that you simply find full of inspiring images. Obviously we also have the phenomenal sources that the internet brings to our fingertips, but there is wisdom in keeping close a small arsenal of books as sources. Having something immediately tangible comes in handy for an artist now and then. Join me after the jump as I catalogue a few different kinds of sourcebooks.

Now you too can make Gino's Famous Meatballs

Whilst we were in New York, our host, Garin, was kind enough to pass down a recipe to me he learned once upon a time from a large Long Island Italian man named Gino. There are a few things I really like about this recipe. The first is that it isn't written down anywhere and there are no precise measurements, so you'll have to use your instincts. The second is that it's resourceful and simple and though it tastes like it's from scratch, it doesn't have to be completely, which allows you to save time. Now, if you have a tomato sauce recipe that was passed down from your great grandma and you swear by it alone even though it takes you a week to brew it up, so be it. You can use that recipe with this ignoring the sauce part.

The first order of business: make the base of all the things. For this meal you'll be making sauce, meatballs, and garlic bread. There are a few key ingredients that go in all of these, so you can blend them all together at once in the very beginning. Into a food processor, throw a lot of peeled garlic cloves (AT LEAST one whole head), a torn-up bunch of italian parsley, and parmesan cheese.

Your mixture should look like this. Now it's time to get the sauce started. Take about a third of this mixture and throw it in the bottom of a large stockpot on medium heat with some butter, olive oil, and diced onions. Let that simmer until the onions begin to turn translucent, making sure not to let the garlic burn.

The visual how-to continues after the jump!

It never hurts to ask...

So, I don't normally do this, but (oh gosh, isn't that what all bloggers say before they hit you up with a pitch, ad, or favor?) nonetheless, it must be done. Because it's important.

Some of you might know that I work for a program called After School Art at the Oxford Community Arts Center. Earlier this year I applied for some funding through PNC Bank. They're running a program called Neighborhood Wishlist, which is aimed at providing communities with money to start and sustain programs in their area. It's pretty cool because it allows anyone out there to try and actually make something happen in their community. So I saw this and thought, "wow! With that money we could bring in another visiting artist for the kids! Also, we could buy special materials for them to do unique projects!" And so I sent in my proposal and (drumroll please...) it's a finalist!

So, what does that mean? Ok, here is where I do it. Here is where I ask for help. I'm just going to rip off the band-aid:
I need you to vote for my program on Facebook.

Whew! There. I said it. Yes, you have to log into Facebook. Yes, you have to add the PNC app to vote. But here's the thing: for every single vote, the After School Art program receives a dollar. That's literally like you donated a dollar out of your pocket to a worthy cause, except it costs nothing. Except maybe one minute of your time. So please (don't make me get desperate) please vote. It's legit. It's a huge help to us running this arts program. Plus, you get three votes for the Wishlist program to use for other worthy causes. There are tons of cool projects out there just waiting to happen in neighborhoods all around us, and you can help make them happen!

So all you have to do is click this link then click the "go to our Facebook app to vote" button. It will prompt you the whole way, and I'll be ever so thankful.

Seriously, how can you say no to those cute little faces? Ok, ok, I'll stop. Please vote for us. The end.

New York house + studio tour

Today I want to draw the veil back just a tad on Sean and I's time in New York. If you're just joining us, my husband and I recently had the opportunity to spend six weeks in the Hudson River Valley while he apprenticed with painter Garin Baker and I worked in my own studio developing products for my Etsy shop, HomewardHandmade. It was a productive and exciting summer for us both, and I thought the best way to fill you in would be to give you a little tour of the property on which we were staying.
Garin's home is an old revolutionary era farmhouse that has been fixed up and refurbished over the 20-odd years he's lived there. The house has an old carriage house in the back which has been renovated to become a large and beautiful studio, hence Garin has dubbed it Carriage House Art Studios. He works solo in the back section and holds workshops and open model sessions in the front. When he hosts larger workshops spanning a few days, he rents out the bedrooms in the top floor of the farm house, one of which we stayed in for the duration of the summer.

First, let's head back to the studio. You can see the original door still in place on the front of it, and much of the old wooden beams preserved inside. In the top shot you see the front of the studio where workshops are held with both Garin and Sean working away, and in the bottom shots the back portion of the carriage house.
Next, let's head inside the house. Join me after the jump!

Back in town

At long last, Sean and I are back in Oxford. New York flew by and now we're busying our little fingers preparing for the school year, unpacking our new home, and generally getting back into the swing of things. That, of course, includes this blog which has sat sad and neglected all summer long. Well no more, my dear friends. I have quite the slew of material saved up, including a house and studio tour of our New York adventure, thoughts and reviews on hunting down quality materials, and of course a new recipe or two.

Ah, life as I know it. It's good to back.

To get you caught up Cliffs Notes style, I'm just going to hook you up to my Instagram IV. A quick rundown: road tripping to NY, our attic room window, studio, NYC times, our live-in dog Lincoln, Sean painting (a model at the house + Grand Central at night), some new Homeward Handmade pieces, supplies, and home again. Enjoy! -hil

city painting

So, I may not be the best at updating lately, but as we all know it's hard to keep up on things when life isn't exactly, well, normal. So here's the scoop: we live in the attic of an old 18th century farmhouse in the Hudson River town of New Windsor with Garin (the artist with whom Sean is apprenticing) and his family. This includes a 2-year-old Weimeraner named Lincoln who keeps us busy with tug-of-war, stick throwing, and generally dreaming about having a dog of our own. Garin has a huge studio in the back of the house and some days Sean paints in there and models come at night, other times they do plain air. Well last week Sean got the privilege of painting with James Gurney, whose work you might recognize from Dinotopia or National Geographic, and he posted a video on his own blog. So to catch you all up, I thought I'd share it here. Enjoy! -hil

and...scene.

This past month has been saturated with the practical stresses of human life: moving, tying up loose ends, and generally preparing for a new chapter. Sean and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the beginning of this week. It was a welcomed period to the run-on sentence that was our move to a house on the other side of town, an unsavory activity that ate up our entire weekend. Sean is finishing his last bits of work today before summer vacation, and I am making sense of a house littered with cardboard boxes. The end of this week will send us on a long journey north where we will be spending 6 weeks in New York's Hudson River Valley. Basically, it's a busy/exciting/tiring time, which is good. It feels like our stage is being reset, and a whole new act is about to play out. I'm looking forward to devoting my attention to the etsy shop during our time there, while Sean apprentices with a master painter. The Hudson River Valley boasts an illustrious list of artists in it's history, chief among them being Thomas Cole, and a long tradition of plein air painting. We are thrilled to have the opportunity, and excited to get the moving done so we can get to the fun part.
Until then. -hil

photo by Chris Ramirez for the New York Times. Check out the article that goes with it here.

Confessions of a Lamp Tramp

If you were to come to our house, one of the first things you might notice, besides the seemingly eternal stack of laundry that endlessly needs conquering (today it is taunting me, half folded on the couch), is that we have a lot of lamps.

But seriously, an inordinate amount.

I've been this way since I can remember, shuddering at the thought of overhead lighting. When I was in high school I purchased lamps from thrift stores to place around my room. I still have one that is so beautiful I refuse to trash it, despite the fact that it flickers every time I step on the wrong floorboard in our living room. I buy good lamps when I see them, even if it means I have to ship them home, even if it means they sit in the basement for a year before we use them. Because a good lamp is hard to find, and I am a lighting fanatic.

That's why, when I stumbled across Radiance Lighting, a little artisan lamp store in the UK, I was immediately smitten.  I have never seen so many beautiful lamps and shades in one place! It's like a junkie's paradise. Especially these shades to the left. They are these old photographs of different neighborhoods superimposed with vintage floral fabrics. Gosh, I feel like they were made just for me.

On top of simply selling unique and beautiful products, I found Radiance's story inspiring to boot. Sean and I have dreamt many times of having a store with a studio or workshop in the back like the artisans of old, and that's exactly the model that founder Hannah Nunn used when opening her own lamp store. When a storefront opened up in her town, she jumped on it and transformed it into a space where she could work in the back and sell up front. Today she has enlisted other creative lighting geniuses who sell at the store and works alongside family and friends to run the operation. In 2010 Radiance moved to a larger location, and it you're into Before and Afters, you can find the entire process chronicled here.

more on Radiance Lighting after the jump!

Husband of mine...

This may be a bit non traditional for this blog, but my sweet husband did an interview for the high school newspaper where he works. Aside from making me smile, he also has some good insights about art and creativity, so I though I'd share with you today. Enjoy!-hil

Crispy Fish Tacos: impress all your friends.

When I go to the grocery store for the week, I like to plan meals around what's on sale, namely what sort of meat is on sale as that can be the priciest piece of the puzzle. Lo and behold, Tilapia, which is maybe my favorite fish, was on a pretty fantastic deal last Monday. In the cart it went and out came the old smartphone.
I know. I'm becoming one of those people who stands in the middle of the produce section squinting at her iPhone oblivious to the milling patrons trying to squeeze past her parked cart. But let me tell you this: the epicurious app is phenomenal and totally worth it.
No, I'm not being paid to tout this app, I just love it. Let me gush for a moment: it lets you search for recipes on-the-go in a myriad of different ways. One can search by main ingredient, meal/course, dietary consideration, dish type, and season or occasion. For example, when I found the Tilapia, I pulled up the app to search for a meal.I searched by main ingredient (seafood) and cuisine (mexican) and it lead me to this sure-to-please recipe for fish tacos. Plus, once you find your recipes, it will make a shopping list for you to check off as you go through the store and it organizes it all according to produce, dairy, meat, and on and on so you can make one quick pass. AND if you have multiple recipes that call for the same ingredient, it adds up the total for you. Oh my. Pure bliss.

So, back to the fish taco platter.
There were a lot of firsts for me: I had never marinated fish (or really anything) in buttermilk, I had never pickled anything, and had no clue how to make salsa verde. Thankfully those days are behind me now. This fish is pretty straightforward, it's really making all the little accouterments that can be time consuming. The recipe calls for Halibut or Bass, but I think you could use any of the flaky white fishes and this would work. Here's the scoop from the recipe:
Read on for the recipe after the jump!

Whimsical Wedding in Oxford, Ohio

I have the immense pleasure today of sharing with you a truly beautiful wedding. Two of our dear friends, Ellen and Luke, got hitched right here in our little town of Oxford. And while Oxford can sometimes seem small, full of jaywalkers, and home to inexplicably loud frat parties, for a wedding it is only perfect and quaint. Ellen and Luke tied the knot at the Oxford Community Arts Center, a beautiful historic building that used to be the Oxford College for Women. In addition to their lovely venue, Ellen added creative and unique DIY touches to the entire event. She crafted handmade fabric flowers for the groomsmen and centerpieces and even an adorable banner as a wedding cake topper using the fabric swatches from the custom Louise Hedley bridesmaid dresses, which were each sewn with a different patterned vintage fabric. I was honored to get to craft a bridal headpiece for Ellen, as well as a little something for each of the bridesmaids to wear in their hair. They even had a photo booth that doubled as a guest book. It was a lovely day and a gorgeous wedding, which is so fitting for this couple whose love for one another is so beautiful. Enjoy! -hil

 more from Ellen and Luke's wedding after the jump!

Stick Forts as Art Forms: a project inspired by the work of Patrick Dougherty

photo by Bill Franz

You may recall me going on an on last summer about an artist by the name of Patrick Dougherty. Well, I'm about to go on a little bit more. This week in After School Art we hosted another visiting artist, Dan Croswell, who assisted Dougherty in his installation at Wegerzyn MetroPark last year. The piece, entitled "A Wiggle In It's Walk" is pictured above. Dan is a sculptor himself, and after giving students a brief presentation on the work of Patrick Dougherty and other sculptors of a similar nature, like Deborah Butterfield, we went outside to try making our own large scale stick sculpture. Read on to see how our project turned out after the jump!

definitely flattered

flattery blog

First off, sorry all for my long and spontaneous vacation from blogging. I threw out my back at the end of March which landed me on the rug in our living room with an ice pack and a bottle of ibuprofen for about a week. Yes, my extremities were fully functional, so I had no excuse not to get my little fingers typing, but when your back doesn't work, I find it's difficult to put the rest of yourself to work. After I was finally able to hoist myself off the floor, Spring Break rolled around for Sean and I, and we promptly rolled out of town. But now it's back to business as usual, and I've accumulated quite the list to share with you, including an outdoor art project, a gorgeous wedding, and maybe even a recipe or two.
But before all that I wanted to share a couple exciting somethings: HomewardHandmade has been getting some press! I felt so honored to find one of my pieces featured on flattery, an adorable fashion blog. Seriously, I can't look through her posts without turning green with envy. Lucky for me (and you!) you can peruse and purchase her closet. I blushed when I found my little flower crown pictured along with some other creative Etsy women I so admire, like Garden of Whimsy, K is for Kani, and The Honey Comb.
On top of that, the lovely Sam at The Frosted Petticoat featured the same piece in one of her beautiful inspiration boards. If you're looking for some wedding ideas, this blog should be a stop on your list. You can  view real weddings, inspiration collections, and even the bloggers take on what a wedding would look like for an unlikely pair (one of her featured ideas is for the hypothetical wedding of Angelina Jolie and Mr. Darcy). Stop by and give her a look, and thank you for the love! -hil

the frosted petticoat blog

Put a bird on it? Don't mind if I do...

Lately I've been obsessed with the work of Kate Broughton. I find myself stopping by her Etsy shop almost everyday, just wondering what new treasure awaits me. To be fair, I didn't discover her on my own. You might remember my friend Laura who did all the great photography for the HomewardHandmade shop. One day I saw that she had favorited these awesome nail decals...they had birds on them! I was immediately smitten, and became even more so in the minutes that followed. What did I find in Kate's shop but temporary tattoos featuring scissors and balls of yarn, a beautifully illustrated chart of British Birds, and other printed odds and ends sporting her lovely natural designs. Stop by and take a look. I'm sure it will brighten your day. -hil

more of Kate's products after the jump!

Why I love Ginestra (and so should you)

Yesterday at the flower shop I was processing a new shipment and in it I found (oh joy!) Ginestra! Ginestra  is what we call a filler flower; it's never the star of the show but it does a great job next to big poms or roses in helping to make a bouquet look full. The flowers come in many different colors: yellow, pink, white, lavender, and even orange. They are arranged as many tiny buds on green wispy stalks and have a fresh, weedy elegance to them. But by far the best thing about this flower is its scent. Whereas many flowers you buy in a shop today don't have any scent to speak of anymore, Ginestra smells like a million miles of honeysuckle on your favorite summer day. It's perfume is so strong and rich and pretty...just put a bouquet of it in your home and you'll find yourself catching a wonderful wiff every time you walk by.

delightfully engaged

You may be wondering about now why, with all this talk of it's wonder, Ginestra isn't the filler of choice for most florists. I will tell you: it's expensive. Ginestra is imported from the hills of Italy, which accounts for most of the price-hike. Also, babies breath is dirt cheap and the most well-known filler flower, though I have yet to find a florist who thinks very highly of it. (note: if you're looking for a nice filler that's not as expensive, go with wax flower. It doesn't smell, but it's beautiful and comes in a small variety of colors).
I did find a great blog on a gorgeous bouquet you can make yourself using Ginestra. You can find all the details for this lovely arrangement at Delightfully Engaged. They formulated this particular bunch with Sweet Peas (so pretty!), Ranunculus, Dusty Miller, and Rice Flower. It is absolutely to die for, and the how-to is straight forward and easy to follow. I hope you enjoy making it, or at least using the great tips it shares, and if you're ever in a flower shop (or the italian countryside) keep an eye out for Ginestra. You may grow to love it just as much as me. -Hil

Bridal Shower Decoration DIY

This weekend Shannon came into town and we had a bridal shower for our lovely friend Ellen who is getting married in just three short weeks! You may recall me posting a little about Ellen's wedding, in particular her vintage floral bridesmaid dresses from Louise Hedley. The nuptials are going to have a blue/green theme along with that lovely dash of bright florals. Our challenge? How to create a beautiful shower to honor our friend on a budget. Get the scoop after the jump!

How To: plant a terrarium

For years I've been steadily accumulating glass containers with the intention of planting terrariums in them and yesterday, with the wonderful weather and just a little extra time between jobs, I finally did. I've been reading up on them and gathering plants, moss, and soil for about a week now. A couple of years ago my mom gave me the book The New Terrarium by Tovah Martin and Kindra Clineff. I thought it was cool but never took the time to read it...until last week. The book gives a very thorough explanation of terrariums: the first one accidentally created by a fern in a bottle, Wardian cases, open containers, etc. The best part is the great resource of case studies in the back, though. It tells you how to plant your own terrarium and beyond that gives a break down of the different environments and types of plants acceptable for use in them. It also lets you know the preferable supplies you'll need to plant each one. On top of that they list many greenhouses and nursuries from which to obtain supplies. With all this under my belt, I set off to plant my first terrarium. Read on for the visual how-to after the jump!

In the classroom with felted scarves

This week in after school art, visiting artist Pamela Howard taught my middle schoolers how to make felted scarves. It was a great project and I think they rather enjoyed it. Pamela had found an adapted tutorial on how to make these with kids using a base of inexpensive sewer's cheesecloth instead of silk (we don't have those kinds of funds!) and easily available tools such as 2" diameter PVC pipe, bubble wrap, olive oil soap, and rubber bands. One of Pamela's friends from an online fiber community she's a part of donated all of the wool we needed for the project, which she had hand-dyed into a beautiful rainbow of colors. Read on for more on this project after the jump!