Smorgasboard

Today's post is going to encompass a myriad of things, so try and keep up! :)


First up, one of my newer books. It's a 6.5" x 8" little number that's covered in paper that's rich in color (the print may look familiar as I used a much lighter blue "wave" paper for a different project). I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture, but the waves are outlined in gold. (I mean, I don't think it's like valuable or anything, so I wouldn't try and take it out of the paper, but it is very pretty nonetheless.) The closer view is of the binding, which is coptic and I'm becoming very fond of the 3 x 3 configuration with the knots.





Ooooh, so I'm so excited to announce the major announcement of this post: my dad's photos are hanging up at the Madison Park Bakery (www.madisonparkbakery.com), which is owned by my Auntie Karen and my Uncle Terry. It looks pretty spiffy, if I do say so myself! We bought the frames from www.americanframe.com and they ship the frames to you disassembled and then you reassemble them (or I guess assemble them, since they weren't assembled in the first place). I really like to do that kind of stuff and so my dad sent his photos and their frames to me and I put them together over a couple of nights (note: when matting a picture, it's good to look at the size of each side and put the bottom --the thicker part of the mat--at the bottom, you know, instead of at the top). But if anyone needs help putting the frames/mats together, let me know. The nice thing about American Frame is that if you buy a frame, they'll cut a mat for free, which is pretty awesome. Then you don't have to do all the measuring yourself. I have a mat cutter at home, so I'm practicing, but for large works, it's just easier to get the frame people to do it.



So the bakery is at 4214 East Madison Street in Seattle and is super cute (especially now) and has super yummy treats in it--the donuts are exceptional (whatever Top Pot). You should also take a look at the website (www.madisonparkbakery.com) because not only did I draw the little pastry characters, but my brother designed and put up the website. So it's pretty awesome. And it was all done in like the draw program or something like that, which is even more crazy.




So 8 different photos are displayed and it takes up the whole wall that I couldn't get it all in the picture. There's one of a ladybug on a cactus, stars on a dirt road, crabs at the market, multicolored trunks, two that highlight the space needle and one panoramic cityscape of Seattle. It was super fun to put them all up on the wall and know that people were going to experience the joy of seeing my dad's photos. If you want to see more, there's a link on the left of my blog. In these pictures, it's difficult to see the images, but I'll do something about that when I get home...

And the last bit of news is that I'm going to be hanging out with my new "nephew" (he's the son of my best friend Renee from high school!) in San Antonio. His name is Eli and here's a picture of me and him when Renee, Maria (Eli's abuelita) and Eli came to visit Seattle a couple of weeks ago. So I've heard he's grown quite a bit, but I'm excited to see for myself.