'twas the night before christmas

"It's not going in the yard, Russ. It's going in the living room."

cozied up for the Christmas eve movie

under the mistletoe :)

Lulu loves Christmas morning!

Feliz Navidad!

If authentic Mexican food doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit... well, at least you can enjoy the pretty rojo and verde! A couples of weeks ago Laurence and I got to visit Phoenix, sunny and perfect every day. After arriving I made a list of things we wanted to do while in Arizona- I know, shocking. Of course there were several "must visit" restaurant recommendations, but at the top of our list was finding the local "hole in the wall" type of restaurant were we could get some authentic tacos and Mexican Coca-Colas. I knew we were getting close when I saw the laundry mat and dollar store. And, I knew we were very close when all of the Hispanic construction type workers stared us down as we made our way to a table, pretending our best to be familiar with the restaurant's protocol.

Mmm, tacos. I tried a few different types on our first visit, but when we returned I knew I just wanted the chicken tacos. Perfection piled with cilantro and seasoned with lime, served with a side of rice and some cucumber slices- simple, fresh, and non-greasy authentic Mexican food! That's right, we stopped back by on our way to the airport our last day in Phoenix. This time we entered as veterans, however I think we got some laughs when I pulled out the camera:) Our waitress was happy to see us again and even gave us some lamb soup on the house, also served with lime and cilantro, two staple worthy ingredients I think.

I have lots more to post about from our wonderful sunny vacation in December, but until then... Feliz Navidad!

a merry christmas to you with paper and glue!

before

after

It's obvious by now I love scrap paper. Really, I love color and texture, and I can't bear to get rid of anything as vibrant and tactile as painted paper. So, I save all the little bits of scraps that fall on my desk when I'm shaping away. Is this crazy of me? I just always think there might be a use for them one day. I guess I shouldn't be so annoyed with Laurence collecting any piece of scrap wood he can fit into our garage. Though, I can fit an amazing amount of paper in a tiny ziploc bag.

Anyway, the "one day" came when I threw one of my tiny ziplocs filled with scrap paper along with some glue into the car before heading home for Thanksgiving. It turned out not to be as compact and tidy of a craft as I had hoped; the paper from the tiny ziploc could easily be scattered across most of the dinning room table. Though I didn't get as many cards made as I would have liked, at least it's a start. Now if only I could start on the Christmas cards, projects, crafts, etc. in July, maybe they would all get done in time for the holidays next year. Somehow I don't see that happening. Oh, well. Merry Christmas!

Repeat the Sounding Joy!

It's been a hectic month thus far, and it's not looking like it's slowing down any time soon! Sometimes I envy the life of Lu...

but, when I'm not basking in the sun, here's where you can find me this weekend:

I designed the postcard below to help advertise our neighborhood's holiday home tour, and this year we have our lights up in time!! It's such a fun and festive holiday event with everyone bundled up walking through the beautiful old streets, visiting the lovely decorated homes, and stopping by the time warp tea room for some hot cocoa! Check out the info below, if you can make it, it's definitely worth it!

Next on the agenda, the Holiday Extravaganza! Come see the Christmas parade tonight, which will pass right in front of the Emporium on Gay Street, then stop in to get some local goods and art to check off your list! It's sure to be lively and festive with all the First Friday happenings.

Ahh, and finally, what I'm most looking forward to, Lessons and Carols Service at our church. I hear there's going to be a banjo and some Sufjan inspired Christmas hymns. Because I can't chill out as easily as Lulu can sometimes, I just keep thinking about the joy and calm we celebrate this season, "All is calm, all is bright."

*Lovely poster design by Mark and Caryn, of Smelling Oranges!

2 for 1 Sale on all my Prints!

Need a fun gift for your schmoopie or sweet pea? Maybe for your little monkies or crazy chicks!? There's something for everyone in my etsy shop! Today's the last day of my 2 for 1 sale!! Let me know if there's something you'd like:)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PepperedPaper

Wildflower Love

More pretty prints in my etsy shop! All peppered paper prints are 2 for 1 starting today!! This new series of thistle was inspired by my love of wildflowers, and a certain boutonniere:) I used the same technique I used for my instruments with my "peppered" drop sheets. I love the differing results of capturing the organic wildflowers versus the inanimate instruments. The peppered paper brings a liveliness to both, while the flowers seem to be flowing subtly and the instruments vibrating with energy. Maybe that's just the nature of the objects, but I like the way my technique captures both with such expressiveness. More organic and inanimate objects are definitely being peppered up soon!

Strumin' up something pretty

New work from peppered paper! My new collage pieces are made from the best kind of peppered paper- the butcher paper used as drop sheets, which keep my drafting table clean. These papers collected just the right amount of splatters, drips, strokes, and the occasional doodle or note, before being cut with care and glued with precision to create these lively pieces. I love the resulting energy and vibrancy that bring these inanimate objects to life. Look closely to appreciate the detail of the cut paper!

I'm excited to offer high quality prints of my new work, which show the detail and vibrancy of the originals. And... all my prints will be 2 for 1 this weekend, Black Friday through Cyber Monday!! Check out the special deal in my Etsy shop!

Banjo Pickin' Girl

Speaking of getting my monthly fix of live music, last week I had the privilege of attending one of Abigail Washburn's residency shows. That makes two live concerts in one week! These shows are different than a typical live show for a few reasons: they are free, there's usually a pot-luck dinner with the musicians before hand, and they're very casual, like, "let's try out this song we've never played for an audience before" kind of casual. Last week's show happened to be on Abigail's birthday! There was a huge cake, a bottle of champagne passed around with some plastic cups, and some happy flowers set on the corner of the stage. So, since it was her birthday and all, and since I just had these lovely prints made of some of my new work, and since this banjo was partly inspired by her banjo pickin'... well, I know I don't need to justify myself, but I was glad to have an excuse to sneak one of these prints up on the stage next to her flowers! Hope she likes it! And, if you do, I'm working on adding these, along with other new peppered paper prints, to my etsy shop soon! I'll let you know when it's updated.

Abigail's last residency show is tomorrow at the Relix Variety Theater on Central. Pot luck at 7pm, show starts at 8pm.

Awake My Soul

I saw Mumford and Sons last night at the Valarium. I'm pretty slow keeping up with technology so I don't have a bootlegged video to show you, but trust me, it wouldn't come close to doing it justice. The live show was powerful. I cried a few times and often had the urge to open wide my arms receiving the radiating light and vibration. Inspired by Shakespeare and Steinbeck, Mumford knows how to build up a melody and release it with felt passion, all in a short sequence of a few minutes. Go see them- wherever, whenever, as soon as you can. I don't think tickets will be just $20 next time around.

Why the rant on Mumford and Sons with all the photos from our hike in Hot Springs, NC? Two simple conclusions follow both of these activities: nature and live music feed the soul, my soul specifically, but I'm sure this is a universal thing. During our hike I also had the urge to lift up my eyes and open wide my arms to fully breathe in the beauty surrounding us. In both venues there is beauty and depth, profound stillness and energy, light flickering through shadows, passion and creativity, and life, God-breathed life. Surely once a month is a reasonable goal to set for experiencing nature and live music. After all, we're in Knoxville, where beautiful nature and live music are right at our foothills.

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die

Where you invest your love, you invest your life

- from Awake My Soul, video below

I found some bootlegged videos if you're interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktjBXLvhM-A

and fyi, King Charles was pretty amazing with them too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itO5TW7UGRg

Pumpkin Heads and Blogiversary

Happy Halloween Pumpkin Heads! I know, I'm a few days late, but surely there's more candy to go around. Actually, we ran out of candy this year! I bought three big bags of fun size chocolate treats and thankfully they were all dropped into totes, two at a time for the early birds, oops. Really we just had to disappoint one trick-or-treater, and it was getting pretty close to 9 o'clock at that point. I love our neighborhood on Halloween- a resident witch lives across the street from us, it has lots of haunted houses I'm sure, plenty of cats, and bats for that matter, and lots of little pumpkin heads dressed up tromping through the leaves.

This year's trick-or-treaters brought a special surprise- a little girl named Ruby dressed up as a nun:) Her little brother was her guardian angel. Did you know we named our vegetable garden Ruby's Victory Garden after the last owner of our home? Well, this cute little family knew Ruby when she lived here and even named their daughter after her! We loved talking to them, and I was relieved to find out Ruby wasn't a horrible old lady but quite spunky!! We already knew a few things about her: she had a huge collection of seashells in the basement, a "Florida" room, and planted quite a few fake flowers in the yard, along with lots of real flowers too. I'm pretty sure she covered up the fabulous velvet wallpaper to protect it when renters moved in, that's my guess at least. Well, I'll never know what Ruby was really like, but I know she loved her/our house, and now I know a cute little girl was named after her. I'm sure that I would have liked her.

post script: Sunday was Peppered Paper's 1 year Blogiversary! This is my 80th post! And to think I was worried about having enough to blog about. Debriefing to come, possibly.

post post script: Don't you love my pumpkin head dolls! I found these at a flea market in Maryville, TN. I don't have many Halloween decorations, but unpacking these every October makes me happy:)

Fall Reading

Looks like I need a free Saturday morning with a grande pumpkin spice latte in hand. I can't keep up with all of my reading! Two of my favorite subscriptions were cancelled last year, so Martha Stewart Living and Better Homes and Gardens were sent as a consolation prize. Nothing will ever live up to Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, but I have to say I'm pretty impressed with Martha and Better Homes and Gardens. Martha has chickens and goats and beautiful gardens, and has since the 70's! And, I've been tearing out lots of garden designs from Better Homes and Gardens dreaming of "one day" in our yard. Again, all I need is a free Saturday morning, or two or three, to get digging! Maybe one will come along in November?

oh, and pumpkin carving commenced last night!

Joy in a Linen Closet

As promised, lots more before and after posts from our house are on their way. Here's one that's kept me smiling for two weeks now... a linen closet, finally!

Before

(above) One of the first major demo projects we undertook- knocking out a wall through a closet into the dinning room. Lots of reasons for this: eliminating an extra door in the front bedroom, making some space in the living room, and creating a centralized "alcove" to the bathroom and bedrooms. We weren't exactly sure the best way to saw through paster and lathe at the time, such novices back then, but we love the results of moving that doorway! And yes, the walls are filled with black soot from the 500 lb. cast iron coal burning furnace that was in our basement when we moved in. We are crazy to undertake this mess, but I don't think we had moved in yet at this point:)

Before

(above) The cardboard box I've been storing extra towels and sheets in for 2.5 years- now collapsed and recycled!

After

Ta-da! I occasionally stop and open it every now and then just to look. Is it wrong to find so much joy in a linen closet? I love old homes and hope to always live in one, and I'm willing to make sacrifices like having very few and/or extremely small closets- I'll just appreciate the useful nooks and beautiful shelving, compliments of Laurence, all the more:)

A Kingdom of It's Own...

Fungi. I keep thinking "miracle" in the title of Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle must be referring to the biological classification of these exquisite beauties. I know it's not, but miracle does sound a lot nicer than fungi. Even the word mushroom doesn't live up to the forest's delicate splendors. Golden, lacy, smooth, ruffly, and extremely intricate aren't the first adjectives that come to mind when I think mushroom. Maybe just because it's French, but champignon sounds beautiful to me. I think that's what I'll call these types of fungi from now on.

Moose on the Loose!

I've been meaning to post photos of Sam's birth announcement canvas! I love how the moose turned out with the sweet colors, which match his bedding. Such a monkey now I'm sure, but the moose is fitting too:) I didn't know about the "moose song" until after I gave the canvas to his Momma. She graciously agreed to email me the lyrics, which made us both laugh. Hope you enjoy as much as Sam does:

There was a great big Moose, who liked to drink a lot of juice.

Singing oh way oh way. Oh way oh way oh way eeh oh.

The Moose's name was Fred. He liked to drink his juice in bed.

Singing oh way oh way. Oh way oh way oh way eeh oh.

He drank his juice with care. But still he spilled some on his hair.

Singing oh way oh way. Oh way oh way oh way eeh oh.

Now there's a moose, full of juice, on the loooooose.

Singing oh way oh way. Oh way oh way oh way eeh oh.