New Tea Cozies

I know...it's been freaking hot as hell this summer and I'm in the sweatyshop making tea cozies. Maybe this heat has gotten to me....but its been too much fun! Here are my first two completed cozies...yes they are double sided for double fun! Look fro them at Artscape the weekend of July 16-18. I'll be posting more here and in my facebook fan page. Are you a fan yet?

Here we go again!

Man, these birthday sure come quicker when you get older. Can't believe its been another year. I vowed to make it a great one. Got up and rode my bike to and around Lake Montebello , came home and passed out the floor to end up playing with my Lucy lou and chuck my housemates. Gonna make me some chocolate chip cookies for my class today and then tonight off to the Hamilton Tavern for burger night ! Days of sitting around wondering who loves me and feeling alone are no more...no more. You really do learn some great lessons when your in your forties. I think this could be my best decade ever.....minus that first one of course.

Matthias Heiderich

Love these photos from by Berlin based photographer Matthias Heiderich. Thanks grain edit for posting them! Reminds me that I'm going to start riding my bike tomorrow!

White Hinterland - I Miss You (Björk cover)

Really loved this version of Bjork's I will miss you by White Hinderland.

Saving the BIrdies

Thanks for everyone who came by and bought a jennyjen item yesterday at Pile of Craft. I raised enough to send the National Audubon Society over a hundred dollars towards their efforts to save the gulf birdies! I also put a donation basket out back for the actual birdies to contribute...twigs and sticks and a couple of worms also going down to the gulf!

My Awesome YPS Class

YPS stands for the Young Peoples Studio at MICA. And this is my 3rd. summer teaching a beginning oil painting class. It keeps growing with a whooping 16 kids and its been great this summer. We are ending our first week today and I've been busy making my power point of portrait mentors that include the likes of Lucian Freud, Jenny Saville, Elizabeth Payton, Shawn Barber and Kerry James Marshall to name a few of my favorites. Here are some pics from this week.

Pile of Craft Count down Continues

Saturday is just a couple of days away and I received my place in the back room of St. Johns Church at booth 30...so keep coming through all the rooms to see all 40 vendors. Remember 10% of all of my sales goes towards the saving the gulf birdies. North birdies supporting the south birdies...that's how we roll! See you there!

Pile of Craft this Saturday!!!!

This Saturday is going to be one of my favorite shows of the year! Charm City Craft Mafia will be having their fourth annual Pile of Craft inside St. Johns Church at 2640 St Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21218. In light of the oil disaster in the gulf, I'm going to donate 10% of all my sales to the National Audubon Society to help save the birdies! I've been working on some new designs and have a large supply of birdy bird patches!

Schoolhouse Electric Co. lighting up my Vintage!

I went to get my hairs done the other day and happened to fall a pond an interior design magazine and noticed these great retro lighting fixtures in one of the pics. I wrote down the resource, Schoolhouse Electric Company, and looked up the web page. I have always had this fascination with retro style lighting fixtures especially from the 40's tot he 50's. These remind me of the old fixtures from our school before they dismantled them and put up those horrible fluoresce lights. The story is great...read all about here...here are some of my favorite designs. Now to save up for that new kitchen light!

Bringing back a classic!

Did you know you can make your own Otis the Owl Pillow?? The link is in this article Made In Baltimore that features a bunch of us diy crafters in Baltimore. If you make it, send me a pic of your final product. I'd love to see it! ANd I'll give you 20% off your next jennyjen42 purchase!

These are a few of my Favorite Things

I've been doing some cleaning and sprucing up of the place. Getting it summer proof with two new chairs and tins of herbs planted on the front porch. Looking for items that remind me of the good days of summer. Looking on the front page of etsy and I discovered this great refurbished Retro Toastmaster Yellow Electric fan that can be found in Fishbone Decor . I found some more favorites I wanted to share!!! Looking the aesthetic of the 60's so much!

Halter Top Complete!!!

This has been a fun week of fun sewing projects! I love these Amy Butler patterns and I can't seem to escape Joel Dewberry's fabric collections. So here is the melting of my two favorite designers! Now its back to making more jennyjen products because Pile of Craft is right around the corner and next weekend is a great girls weekend escape to NYC! One more week of school!

Next Sewing Project

I was quite happy with my last Amy Butler dress that I decided to keep on keeping on. My Cabo Halter dress pattern showed up today in the mail with two yards of Joel Dewberry's Antler Damask in Terracotta fabric from his Deer Valley Collection. So tonight's its back to the sweatshop for a little sewing enjoyment and the next three episodes of The Tudors! Man, this isn't the Henry the Eight series my parents made us watch back in the 70's!

"Life Line" by Logan Hicks- New Print Release and Artist Profile

Logan Hicks is an amazing artist who use to live and work in Baltimore. I have had the pleasure of having work in his space, having him make t-shirts for me as well as have a panel of his work left over from an amazing street art show as part of Artscape along with the panel from Surge. I really love seeing his work explode. I hope to see his work next weekend when I go up to the big apple.

New Jennyjen stuff....with Free Shipping!!!!

I'm having a free shipping sale in my shop! As well as being featured on Indiefixx's summer galleria which begins tomorrow. I've been trying my best to stick up and load it up with new products. I've been trying to add a new product everyday! I really want this summer to be a block buster selling season. Since I only have two more shows happening...I need to boost my shop sales. So go check it out. Again free shipping n the US! Here are some newbies that are fresh in the shop.

New Dress in Town

I just got finshed making my new Amy Butler pattern dress. I love this Joel Dewberry Antler Damask in Sky pattern from his Deer Valley series. Once in a while I actually squeeze in some time to make something for me. Can't wait to wear it tomorrow for graduation!

Thanks IndieFixx!!

Check out my sweatshop on Indiefixx today!!! I share not only my sweatshop but my organization secrets. Check out Indiefixx for the latest in diy news, crafters, ideas, gallerias, how to's and what not's. One of my favorite blogs that I check on a regular basis! And the creator is another Jen!!! What's not to love about that! Thanks again Jen!

And here it is....

I absolutely love it!!!! Thanks Bill!

Proud to say I didn't cry, I didn't pass out and I only finched a couple of times....

New tattoo in the works

Happy June everyone. My favorite month! In fact I started this blog in the month of June, I believe I'm heading on to its 4th year! I'll turn 47 this month and my tattoo turns one! So to celebrate all of this, I'm getting a new tattoo. I like the fact that I finally feel confident with the images that I have no problem being attached to for the rest of my life. I think once you are in your forties, that the best time to get a tattoo. Well this one is going om my back. Birds on the wire. I've been sewing this scene with my sewing machine for the past year and its really stuck with me. It's that whole urban bird series....just like me, an urban bird. Here is the drawing...stay tune for future pics.