• inspiring trees

    Our little downtown park has recently added a temporary art installation: Dr. Suess-inspired tree socks covering the trunks of all the trees, part of an exhibit by Seattle artist Suzanne Tidwell called Artificial Light. Years ago, we had one of Bella’s birthday parties (a fairy party) here, and the sight of the guests – building their own fairy houses and running through the meadow in wings and flower crowns – was magical. But this new display has elevated the park’s allure and, since it’s only here until June, we need to enjoy it while we can. Beautiful and inspiring, it’s definitely the perfect place to spend an afternoon hanging out and making daisy chains. Happy weekend!

  • tiny art

    I’m definitely more “crafty” than “artsy,” but every once in a while I get the urge to make my own masterpiece and, when that feeling comes, I love to make a few inchies. If you don’t know, inchies are tiny works of art using any and all art medium, with the constraint being that the piece fit a one inch by one inch space. Crafters like me have gotten into the mix by incorporating stamping, collage and other paper-crafting elements into inchie art. Ellen Hutson is one of the most inspiring inchie artists to me and uses the cutest inchie stamps designed by Lockhart Stamp Company. Another great resource is Inchie Arts, their website has tons of ideas and supplies. Coloring in my own little inchies with the amazing Copic markers I’ve begun collecting feels to me as good as breaking into a new pack of Crayolas during the first weeks of school when I was a little girl – ahh! And the thing about inchies: they are honestly too tiny to mess up. I love that even I can be an artist on a one-inch canvas.