For the past three years, I’ve been on a nice, long time-out from my business. During that time, Jack and I bought a home, sold a home, and moved from the middle of Minnesota to the middle of Mexico. But more importantly, the break gave me time to forge a new creative identity. I needed […]
Masks for Teletón Guadalajara
It started with a phone call. “Benjamin? It’s Becca in Chapala. I have a question. Are they going to need masks for Teletón when they re-open the hospital in Guadalajara?” Still in the midst of a mask-making project for adults, Becca thought the folks at Teletón might need 400 masks for the children in the […]
Create a Habit in 3 Steps • Round 2
When I wrote about this topic back in 2017, we were preparing to sell our house in Minnesota and my life was overly busy. Today, I have far too much unstructured time on my hands due to the Covid-19 pandemic and local stay-at-home orders. Thankfully, one strategy – to Create a Habit in 3 Steps […]
Mask Maker’s Secret Weapon
I’ve looked at (and completed) more fitted fabric face masks in the last few weeks than I care to think about. After stitching over hundreds (and hundreds) of bumpy, lumpy seams, I realized that a Mask Maker’s Secret Weapon was staring me right in the face. Well, not exactly staring at me. But only a […]
Mask Making in Chapala
With the Coronavirus turning our world upside down right before our eyes, my friend Becca Pohl and I decided it was time to stop talking and start working. Like so many other sewists in the world, we set up a small Mask Making operation in Chapala, Jalisco. We know that good quality (washable) masks will […]
What’s up in your world?
I don’t know about you, but I’m finding this world a pretty strange place as the novel coronavirus upends our normal lives. Physically, my sweetheart and I are healthy and living in a pretty good place to weather the storm. Mentally, that’s another matter. (Although I’m sure I would do better if spent less time […]
Working With Old Paintstiks
After far too much time in the computer over the past couple of months, I knew it was time to get back into the studio. What I didn’t know was that I would be getting a lesson in Working with Old Paintstiks. As I was preparing to put the “primer” coat on my next project. […]
From House to Home
When I purchased a house in Mexico, my “home” was still in Minnesota. With that house sold, I had to figure out how to get from House to Home here in Chapala. Jack and I debated long and hard about how much to ship from the US. It was far too expensive to “send it […]
Keep Stitching
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my strategy for getting “back into the studio” with 20 minutes of stitching each day. When the universe saw fit to change my plans the past few weeks, I decided I needed to Keep Stitching! My “plan” to take part in the Silhouette Curio Intensive retreat turned into […]
Create a Habit in 3 Simple Steps
With an excess of things to keep track of this summer, my Get In The Studio habit went to hell in a handbasket. That’s okay for a while, but eventually it makes me cranky. (And that’s definitely not okay!) Long story short, I needed to Create a Habit in order to get back to creating [...]
Chipboard Rubbing Plates: Part 1
In the last newsletter, I mentioned that my new Silhouette Curio machine had arrived. (Yay! I love new toys!) The Curio is designed to cut thicker materials, and I was chomping at the bit to see how it would do cutting custom Chipboard Rubbing Plates. In case you’re new here at Cedar Canyon, I love […]
Seven Steps to Freedom from Idea Debt
In early 2016, I ran across a fabulous article about Idea Debt by Jessica Abel. It was one of those “whack on the side of the head” moments for me then – and is just as applicable today. The essence of the article is that Too Much Thinking and Too Little Making is the perfect […]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 31
- Next Page »
