Laura Aspinall

Jun

29

Days of Summer #2

Chickens / garden / summer / Terrarium / Uncategorized  Posted by / 0 comments
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Today I woke up with the chickens on my mind. And good thing, as there were three eggs and a whole lot of squawking waiting for me. Not sure what those ladies have been to, but their digs were filthy. I suspect they had a rave, or at least a kegger. while I was away last weekend. Spent a good portion of the morning doing deep cleaning, much to my chickens’ dismay. I felt a whole lot better though.

Then, it was on to terrarium cleanup. Small, teeny, tiny gardens encased in glass,P1070129 or terrariums, are one of my new loves. Until today, my terrarium was occupied by a wee blue armadillo. At approximately 11:00 a.m. PST, the armadillo was served its walking papers to make way for a chihuahua duo who share a striking resemblance with two real life little dogs. These were hand-made by a student as a thank-you gift. By far one of the best gifts I have ever received, and certainly deserving of a place of honor.

The day came to an end at Hopmonk Tavern in Sebastopol, listening  to my friends Dave and Karen play music, while I sat back and sipped some ice cold wine. Only made better by the fact that summer still has a loooong way to go.

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Jun

28

Days of Summer #1

do it yourself / garden / summer / tomtaotes / Uncategorized / vegetables  Posted by / 0 comments
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I am often asked what exactly it is I do aaaaaall day long in the summer, given I am not at work. Typically my answer is something like, “what don’t I do??!” The days fly by, a blur of friends, family, projects, gardening, trips, time in the studio, so on and so forth….But I thought in honor of that question, I’d do a little experiment and document here for you my many days of summer through a series of short “mini blog” posts. Here goes!

Day 1

After two days of weird freakishly winter like rain, my garden was looking a little raggedy. Dahlias flopped over, tomatoes falling out of their cages, things basically in need of some TLC. So that was what I did this evening. Staking, a little weeding, and some harvesting. Most exciting discovery was the first of the cherry tomatoes and a TON of leeks. Tonight’s homework assignment: find leek recipes.

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Mar

29

Quilting: Its Complicated

do it yourself / fabric / quilting / sewing / Uncategorized  Posted by / 0 comments

What to say about quilting. Well, quilting is hard (almost as hard as writing this post, I’ve started and stopped like eleven times. Seriously, what is my problem). Measuring, no matter how hard I try, is elusive.  Things don’t match up, my seams are just as often wonky as they are straight. Sometimes fabric puckers and creases. So why do I keep at this quilting business if its so nasty and frustrating? Well, there is more than one answer to that; I will attempt here to explain. At my core I am a maker of things. Things that people can use and love. Things that are beautiful and creative and tell people with every use how important they are to me. Quilting is tradition that embodies this. A quilt is something a person can use everyday, share their life with, wash a thousand times, get grass stains on, spill wine on, raise their kids with, get through a bad cold or a long night with. Quilts carry history with them, they record our personal stories, and they remind us that we are loved and someone out there wants to make sure we stay warm.

Secondly, I saw the documentary, The Quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend (and later the exhibit) and it literally changed something in me. Beautiful, wild, completely unconventional patterns. Generations of quilter’s, making amazing  art  out of scraps, rags, old clothes, feedbags, mattress ticking, essentially whatever they had, in a tiny isolated town.  Nobody told them this was the right or wrong way to make quilts. They just did it.

So, I gave up seeking perfection. Besides not being terribly fun,  I  learned to  embrace and repeat the following mantra, “this is handmade. Therefore it should look like I made it by hand.” And there is A LOT of repeating of this. Still. Walking away from classic  quilt patterns opened up a whole new world of possibility. AND, perfection isn’t my thing. Not in any of my creative pursuits, so why, why would quilting be any different? By no means is there anything wrong with traditional quilting patterns, their histories are fascinating and important, they are just not  me. With all this in mind, I started to practice what I like to think of as “abstract quilting”. Problem solving exercises in color, line, shape and pattern.

So without any further ado, here for your viewing pleasure, are a few of my most recent endeavors.

 

 

 

 

This lovely little number is the pride and joy and result of a collaboration between myself and the very talented Jennifer Frendo.  This winter break we locked ourselves in Jenny’s studio, threw caution to the wind, as quilters are want to do, and busted out this sweet little master piece for baby Deven.

And then, if that weren’t enough, we did this.

 

 

 

 

Well, this one the credit really goes to Jennifer. I only helped out with the binding, but I do love it so.

And just in case its starting to look like all I make are baby quilts, there are these pillows, made out of scraps of fabric, a skirt, and my dad’s old cashmere sweater that I I wore to death in high school, but couldn’t quite bear to get rid of. Kind of a homage to those quilts of Gee’s Bend, and a nice daily reminder of how much I love my dad.

 So,  your not a quilter, certainly I am just barely one. But maybe this will inspire you to make room for something you love to do in your own imperfect and lovely way.

 

Dec

22

Holiday Wrap

do it yourself / entertain / fun / gift wrapping / holiday / party / Uncategorized  Posted by / 0 comments

Just a quick holiday check in to see how ya’ll are doing with your shopping, baking, wrapping and trimming. I myself am doing quite well with my holiday to do list. So well in fact that I thought I’d take a moment to share two of my favorite gift exchange traditions. Lisa Jean, this one’s for you, a girl after my own heart who has a weakness for artful and thoughtfully wrapped packages with ribbon, lots of ribbon. And then maybe some more ribbon.

1. Nothing says the holidays like cheetah

A few years ago while  pawing through the boxes of wrapping paper in Target desperate to find something free of snowmen and hideously glittered poinsettias, I  had an epiphany. Essentially the heavens opened and angels clad in Santa hats and motorcycle jackets, wielding trumpets and scotch tape,  sang out, “HEY, LAURA ASPINALL, don’t  use traditional wrapping paper, go wild, go crazy, get whatever YOU WANT!!!” It was really a very freeing moment. I may have even shed a tear or two as I fled the Christmas isle in search of glorious, beautiful, Christmas -cartoon -character-devoid wrapping paper. And let me tell you, its everywhere and its so much prettier.

This year I found my sweet wrapping paper gems at Marshall’s. Gorgeous, high quality, metallics and animal prints, for a whopping $2.99 a roll. Okay, one was $3.99. I splurged. The black and silver wood grain paper featured above is my favorite this year.

One of the truly great things about going with the nontraditional is you can use it all year round. The secret is in the trimmings. Traditional Christmas colored ribbons, and an ornament or two is all you need for this paper to read Christmas. Swap that out with a black, or hot pink ribbon later in the year and you have an awfully pretty birthday gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Discounts and Coupons

I clip coupons and then never use them. They sit stuck to the frig while I stand in line at some craft store or another cursing myself that yet again I left my 50% off one item coupon at home. Well, no more! This year I discovered that most major craft and fabric stores have an app. Micheal’s, Joann’s, Beverly’s all have apps where you can access their current coupons immediately and then just show the store clerk your phone. The angels didn’t make an appearance, but there was a faint trumpeting to be heard if you listened closely. For me this year that meant that I got all my ribbon half off. Definitely worth taking the two minutes to download their app.

3. Its all over but the shouting (what does that mean, anyways…)

In my family we do something called tree gifts. Its an English tradition that takes place after dinner on Christmas Day. After all the presents have been opened, the food has been eaten, and everyone is starting to think to themselves, “Well, I guess that’s it til next year…”, someone calls out, “Wait! We have tree gifts!”, and we get excited all over again. Tree gifts are small, low cost gifts, that adorn the tree. Everyone gets one and they are typically labeled, “from the tree”. Our family has come to really enjoy and look forward to this tradition. In a nutshell, its a fun way to end Christmas day.

Happy Holidays, everyone, and don’t forget to make some room for yourself this holiday season. Until next year!

Oct

17

Queen of Halloween (that’s me)

do it yourself / entertain / fall / fun / halloween / home decor / party  Posted by / 1 comments

As I have mentioned before, I love Halloween. In my opinion it is the most superior of all holidays.  Costumes, silliness, kids knocking on doors demanding candy. What’s NOT to love?!!! So in honor of this fantastic day, I have an annual Halloween Party. And its pretty great. As a result, my collection of Halloween decor has grown quite extensive. That being said, some of my favorite decorations are simple ones I have made or assembled from things I had at home or in the garden. So today on Makeroom I am featuring some of my all time best Halloween decorations.

1.Lighting

Lighting is critical. It sets the mood and can turn your home into a spooky haunt with the flick of a light switch and the lighting of a few (okay, maybe alot of) candles. I frequently purchase sanctuary candles as they are cheap, readily available, come in many colors, and burn for a long time. I am also a fan of using white lunch bags as votive bags, and line our walkway and front yard with them the night of our party. Add a little sand or dirt so they don’t blow away, finish with a tea light and you are set. Featured here are candles printed with lace using black paint, a roller and a lot of pressure. Below is a very easy project involving wrapping mason jars with cheesecloth, secured with safety pins (sprayed painted black), finished with plastic spiders hot glued on.

2. Day of the Dead Altar

I always construct a Dead of the Dead Altar. Dia de Los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, it originated in Mexico, and coincides with All Saints Day, but has spread to the United States and is widely celebrated in California, where I hail from. Its a day to remember those that have passed and to honor the dead. The colors associated with Dia de Los Muertos are bright and lively. It is as much a celebration of the living as it is for the dead. The altar is a great conversation piece for the party, but I also enjoy having it in the house to remember those that have passed on. Each year I add to it. Last year I made and decorated sugar skulls, which you can keep and reuse from year to year. For the less ambitious, the key ingredients to a good alter include: multiple levels, constructed out of boxes and stacks of books covered with a colorful cloth, marigolds, lots of candles, various pieces of skull decor, bright colors, offerings such as candy, cookies, flowers for the departed, and of course, pictures of those you are honoring. In addition to family and friends who have passed on, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and many of my friends pets have all had a place of honor on my altar. This year we’ll be making a special little place for Beastie Boy, MC-A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. PUMPKINS!

I love myself some heirloom gourds (when was the last time you heard that phrase uttered…). I really do. Green, white, striped, lumpy or bumpy, you name it. Some years I try my hand a growing a few of my own- this year is was white “Lumina” and orange “Cinderella” pumpkins. But no year have I been able to escape the allure of the pumpkin farm. Let’s be very clear, emphasis on “farm”, DE-emphasis on jumpy house. I am talking about an honest to goodness farm where pumpkins are grown. I swear, they really do exist, and they are completely worth seeking out.

Any of these beauties would be enough to deck the halls all on their own. That being said, I decided to take it one step further with my pumpkin decor this year. This project does not involve any carving, which nice as carved pumpkins have a short shelf life, especially in climates such as mine when it is still quite warm in October.

You will need the following items for this project:

  • Black spray paint (matte or gloss, your choice)
  • A small or medium sized pumpkin
  • A large pair of lace underwear, or some other kind of stretchy lace material
  • One rubber band

Cut down the sides, separating the front from the back

Wrap the back piece of said underwear around the pumpkin, secure with the a rubber band on the underside.

This is what it looks like from the front/top

Spray with light, even coats, let it dry for at least an hour.

Cut the lace away, and viola!

4. (Dead) Floral Arrangements

At the end of summer while I am cleaning out the garden, I always put aside any cuttings I thing will make for interesting Halloween arrangements. Twigs, branches, sunflowers, hydrangeas, poppies, all make for great additions to a spooky, autumn inspired centerpiece. Add a little black spray paint, and its even better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night my mom and I were talking about why I like Halloween so much. She recalled that as a kid I was no less enthusiastic, coming home red in the face and sweaty from wearing the wig that went with my witch costume for the entire duration of trick or treating. Making decorations for our home from scraps of construction paper and taping them to the bay window at the front of our house. Doing costume “dry runs” the night before. I think it has to do with the suspension of the rules. Wear what you want. Pretend to be someone you aren’t. Stay out after dark. Spoil your dinner and eat candy.  I really was tickled by the novelty of  this, and as an adult, I guess I still am. So make a little room for doing something because if for no other reasons, it makes you smile and feel 7 again.

Happy Halloween, ya’ll!