Can I move into a Milwaukee Bakery?

I have been visiting my dear friend in wonderful Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and decided I should move there if only for all the delicious bakeries! This case is at LaReve...can I just climb in there and work my way through the mousse, maccaroons, tarts, cakes, and pastries...ahhh, heaven.

I realized when I got home that I really didn't take too many pictures, but I wanted to share a few, and these neat puppets we saw while out at antique stores in The Third Ward downtown. I am intrigued by puppets and marionettes. It is something I have been talking about trying but just quite haven't found the time. I got a little inspiration here.

There are so many nice places to see there...I will say many of them involved us eating! It turned out I was there during Polish Fest too. What visit to Wisconsin would be complete without a polka? Jodi was a lovely tour guide and made sure I saw much of the city. And I was able to see her new home- an adorable bungalow built in the 20s- which she has fixed up and decorated so cool (of course!). Thank you Jodi for having me!

I was also able to meet John, the mailman who I interviewed last month, and have some drinks and laughs together on Jodi's patio. We had a great time! John also made sure I had my share of pastries, bringing blueberry bread, a tart, and cheesecake from Simma's Bakery! Amazing stuff! Thank you John!   If you missed the Questions for the Mailman, check it out here.

The summer seems to be packed with trips and events but I'm sure I will find the time to create and see you all soon.

The Sketchbook Project comes to Seattle!

We went up to Seattle today for The Sketchbook Project! It was a bit of a mad house but we were able to see a few, including mine. I didn't know how it would be set up and was a little upset we couldn't just browse around pulling out books that caught our eye. ( However, I understand this could have created chaos for the folks who organized the show.)

You had to check out books by category or name ( I wish I had written down blog friends who did the project! That would have been fun!) and someone who worked there would bring you two. It was great to see all the different styles and I was amazed by some of the fabric covers on books-- a whole lot of creativity out there for sure!  

One of my pages

I am still debating if I am going to do it again this year. I wanted to do one with more stitching and fabric incorporated into it. I better not wait too long like last year and end up in a rush!

Finished Book Page

I finished my fabric book page with the Robert Frost quote. Added some lace and buttons and placed it in the book. Page two complete. More to come.

Egg Tempura Painting

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in Serena Barton's egg tempura painting class in Portland, Oregon. Her classes are always amazing and her studio is inspiration in itself.  There were just two students so we had a lot of instruction and time.  I was able to start a couple paintings.

I like the way this first one turned out.

The second one I added some mixed media elements. I plan to embellish it a little more with some three dimensional items.

Poetry Sentiment

I started working on a new page for my fabric book. I was recently inspired by this Robert Frost quote. I hand wrote it onto fabric and dipped it in encaustic wax.  I liked the way the stitches looked on the encaustic.  I am still playing with the quilting and layout but like where it's headed.

" It is absurd to think that the only way to tell if a poem is lasting is to wait and see if it lasts. The right reader of a good poem can tell the moment it strikes him that he has taken an immortal wound- that he will never get over it.  That is to say, permanence in poetry, as in love, is perceived instantly.  It hasn't to await the test of time.  The proof of a poem is not that we have never forgotten it, but we knew at sight we never could forget it."

- Robert Frost