playing Archives - Try Handmade

language & meaning designworks

February 13, 2019 by Erika Jurney 2 Comments

language & meaning designworks: I’ve been mesmerized by paper for as long as I can remember. I can’t tell you how many portfolios of paper I have…well, actually, I can since they’re right next to me, but I digress.

I started doing fine art collages in college. Inspired by Hannah Hoch and her Dadaist counterparts, I enjoyed playing around with a mix of found images and objects, advertising cut-outs and text and found that I was drawn to their interplay. Really, I suppose you could take it all the way back to when my sister and I would cut out words, fashions and famous people from magazines and make huge poster board displays for our rooms. Luckily for everyone, I won’t be making any homages to the Cure or Benneton any time soon..

I never could wrap my brain around large-scale projects. Instructors were always telling me to step back from my projects for perspective, telling me “you’re too close to that canvas;” guess I was trying to make something big, small. Instead, I opted to create vignettes that (I hoped) had a Joseph Cornell vibe to them. Small seemed intimate, personal; a window into a certain feeling.

I take the same care with my cards, invitations and other paper crafts. I like to think of them as tiny works of art. I LOVE paper! I see ideas in those sheets but I’m not gonna lie, not everything I make is a hug from Jesus. You won’t see any of my design step-children here; only the best for you peeps!

I’m a total and complete art history nerd: modern and contemporary art/photography and mid-century architecture/furnishings. The weirdest thing about me is the way I eat ice cream from the carton – it’s gotta be scraped in a flat, level pattern or all is no bueno in this house! Currently in grad school for my MFA and loving life with my husband, the company of good friends and MAKING STUFF.

The Comforts of Fall…

September 5, 2018 by Amy L. 1 Comment

Fall leaves photo from Mist Flower Photo

It’s arrived here on the West Coast… What you ask? Oh you know – that time of year where we get upwards of 20 rain-filled days at a time! Sure, sure it makes everything green. But it also makes everything just a little bit grey too. Yet I can’t help but feel a bit excited too – this is the time of year that I think many of us relish creature comforts just a little bit more. It’s the season where coziness and sweet treats are given more priority than any other. It’s also a time when we come together more often as families for various gatherings – here in Canada, we’re already celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Truffles from: Lolli Dreams

One of my favorite things at a family gathering has got to be playing board games. My family is fiercely competitive and a win at Scrabble or any other game is followed by jubilant cheers from the winner, possibly some dancing around the living room – while the “loser” is forced to watch this gloating with at least a reasonable amount of good cheer!

Handmade Chess Pieces from: Chessets

Family gatherings aside I always see autumn as a time to make the home just a bit more bright and to add a touch of fun here or there. From pumpkin scented candles to candy corn scented soap there is no shortage of great items to be found.

Candy Corn Soap from: A Breath of French Air

While the wind is howling outside and showers are falling – I do always remind myself too, that spring and summer aren’t really that far off!

k. o’brien jewelry

March 26, 2018 by Erika Jurney 2 Comments

I’m loving these simple, clean rings by k. o’brien jewelry. I especially appreciate how she squares the ring bands so the large stones don’t twirl around on your finger. Such attention to detail is remarkable.

k. o’brien: I received my BFA in Jewelry and Metals from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. During my training I came to realize that I love making jewelry from sterling and fine silver and adding color to my pieces with enamel. I am enamored with the problem solving of making adornments as well as the ability to be able to manipulate metal into the form that I want it to become by hammering and bending it.

During my undergraduate education I also came to realize that my other passions are textiles, bookbinding and paper arts. No matter what the medium is I am always influenced by nature. Its patterns, colors, beauty, forms and rebirth always find a way into my work.

My jewelry is influenced heavily on nature and the Art Nouveau movement. I love to play with textures on metal and seeing how different techniques pick up reflections of color and light. I prefer to make one of a kind pieces, playing around with piece after piece leaving some ideas behind and taking other ideas along to blend with the new.

Gift Guide – For the Little Ones in Your Life

October 13, 2017 by Amy L. 2 Comments

3D Mobile is from: Gosh and Golly

I started prepping for the holidays this weekend and I don’t know what it is but I’m already singing Christmas Carols and looking forward to time off in December! Inspired by this, I’ve gathered some items to share in what will be the first in a series of holiday gift guides I’ll be sharing with you in the weeks to come.

Before I jump right in I’d love to hear about your favorite holiday memories! I have some fun ones from last Christmas… My family lives in Iowa so the husband and I made our way down there in December like we always do. Little did we know we’d be snowed in for all 6 days at my parents’ place! We had fun though, putting together puzzles, playing board games, and on Christmas Eve – wondering when the power would come back on (luckily it was only a couple hours with no power – but we enjoyed eating our Christmas Eve dinner by candlelight and listening for updates on the wind-up radio)!

These adorable shoes are courtesy of LaLaShoes – this talented artisan is a trained industrial designer who worked many years in graphic design as an art director.

Rikrak creates these really fun personalized stockings – pictured below:

I love the bright colors featured in the Brooklyn Bib Shop

I hope you enjoy these bright items I’ve put together – if you have any requests for gift guide themes you’d like me to follow in the weeks to come, leave me a note in the comments and let me know!