Take a peek at the Spring Handmade Cavalcade

I was going to write an entry about all the wonderful vendors that will be at he Spring Handmade Cavalcade (and I still might), but Wabisabi Brooklyn put me to shame with her Treasury on etsy.   Once again a picture proves it's worth a 1000 words!

The story behind Light Up My Tree card

Did you ever have Christmas tree lights duty?   You know... where you are the one who wraps that lovely pine in strands of winking electricity?   Where the needle scratches on your hands are forgotten as soon as you see the lovely lines twinkling through the branches?

In my family it's usually me and my dad who have light duty.   It's one of those few traditions that have built up, unspoken, unplanned.   Somehow, as an adult, it's almost always the two of us dragging the tree inside, him setting it up in the base, me holding it straight as he clamps it in, and mom coming in to tell us how it's leaning to the left...

And then it's on to the lights.  First plugging them in to check that they still work, and then I squeeze behind the tree and dad stands in front of it.   We wrap it in strand upon strand of lights, passing them to each other when we can't reach any further around the tree.   Nowadays they're mostly white solids, but I remember as a kid having different sizes and colors and blinkers...   Wow.  It would look like a carnival ride.

But no matter what lights go on, I always treasure that moment when its just bark, needles, and lights.   That moment before we toss on all our wonderful, gaudy ornaments.  It's like seeing the star of a play in their dressing room, in lingerie, face makeup on, but the costume still hanging on the door.

My newest holiday card celebrates that pause in decorating.  That moment right when we Light Up My Tree.

Tea light covers to sparkle day or night!

Introducing warpeDesign punctured paper tea light covers!   Using the same hand punching technique as in my cards and lamps, I've now created these lovely tea light covers.   I've only got two posted so far, but I will be adding more over the next few weeks. 

One of  my favoring aspects (other than how cool they look) is that they are just so simple.   I've designed them as basic strips with a tab and slot. 

Assembly is as simple as curve, tuck, and straighten!

And when you're done, just reverse the steps, slide it back into the cellophane envelope, and store it anywhere without worrying about dust or damage.   It'll be fresh as new when you take it out the next time! 

Just one caveat - these are paper, so using them directly with an open flame is not safe.   All you need is one of those glass tealight containers, something tall enough to block the fire from the cover. I've used glass tumblers I found at flea markets for a few pennies.   Or....   an electronic, LED tea light is completely safe on its own and they're available at most hardware stores.

I will be debuting them tomorrow at the Market, so if you are going to be out for the marathon in Brooklyn, come over and check them out.  I'll have a bunch of different designs offered in three colors: gold, silver, and bronzed chocolate!   Hope I see you there!

warpeDesign on PapernStitch

For the next month, warpeDesign will be one of the visiting artists on Papernstitch, a wonderful online exhibition space celebrating handmade arts and artists.   It's lovely to be in such fabulous company.   There are amazing things to see and it's a fun site to hop around.   It's also a great way for me to display 20+ pieces at a time.   Check in a couple times over the month because I'll be tossing in new images (maybe some new product).   Everything here is for sale on etsy...   this is just a fun new way to get an overview of my work.   Enjoy!

Beginning the season

The Fall Handmade Cavalcade was a great way to get back into the swing of things. As much as we all love time off (which August was for me), it's never easy to start working again. But when you have to do it, it doesn't get any better than Beacon this weekend.

The friendships I've made and continue to build in the {NewNew} are a fantastic support group to lean back on. They are wonderful people who I can bounce ideas off of, who's creative spirits keep inspiring me, and who continually challenge me to keep looking towards the horizon instead of just at my feet.

This weekend was the most difficult show I've ever done. Never before have I been so deeply involved in the pre-show development. It was a big learning experience on what goes into the networking, advertising, socializing, pamphleteering, posting, chatting, emailing, etc, etc, etc! Add into that it was my first show out of town... in fact, my first one off the Long Island (and, yes, for those of us who forget, Brooklyn & Queens are on the tip of LI!)

All I can really say is: Thanks, guys, for inviting me into the fold!

Mother of Invention is in the Gut

I started making lampshades a few months ago using basic circle wire frames. At it's simplest, it consists of two rings set a certain distance apart with paper wrapped around them to form either a column or a cone. The wire circles dictate the shape as well as supplying the support and method of attachment. Add base and bulb and - TA-DA -You have a lamp!

A few weeks ago I was working with a piece of paper I'd punctured (say that 3x's fast!) with the pattern I call "Melting". It was supposed to fit around a 10" diameter wire frame but somewhere I'd measured something wrong and it was too short! There was no way I could hide a 1" gap. But there was also no way I was going to junk this beautiful paper I'd spent hours creating!

I happened to have a 6" diameter frame sitting out for another piece. I had laid down the "Melting" paper beside it. Without thinking too much, my hands reached for both and began assembling... (The mother of invention must be in the gut, not the brain!) There was a good chunk of painstakingly punched paper I was going to have to cut off for this smaller frame, IF I made it into the standard column. If. If. If...

And that's how I created the Melting Teardrop Lampshade!