my love for you is a stampede of horses.

handmade nation opening credits.

it's been a few days since i've posted, and well i have decided to suspend the blog until our nation's economic crisis has been averted. jk. jk. i joke, i joke...honestly i have just been working super early and well, frankly not prioritizing my time well! ha. soooo, anyway, hopefully i'll get a handle on that bs soon. i'll be back to posting regularly by friday.

thank you all for your awesome comments for the giveaway of the handmade nation book, best turn out so far on the blog! stay tuned for an a-w-e-s-o-m-e give away that will be going down next friday. giving stuff away is immensely gratifying. you should do it, you can start with me, k?

check out the opening credits for handmade nation! doesn't it look radical? stop motion animation is the bees knees and a perfect opener for what looks to be an awesome film. i can't wait!!!

a peek behind the scenes of handmade nation.

speaking of faythe levine, she recently sent me a link to the shooting sequence of the credits for handmade nation her documentary on the rise of DIY craft and design. filmed completely in stop animation at radar studios in chicago, it took 26 hrs to shoot. here are a few shots of the process...to see more check out handmade nation's flickr page.

handmade nation craftifesto print.

handmade nation is a book and film documenting the rise of DIY, craft, art and design culture that will be arriving in book stores in november this year and film festivals for 2009, respectively. do you heart craft and diy culture? do you attend craft fairs? organize your own stitch and bitches? well, you should pre-order the handmade nation book, it's a must have. (which you can do here.) many indie artists and movers and shakers of the diy/craft culture will be featured in the book. peeps like jill bliss, nikki mcclure, monica canilao, needles and pens and the list goes on! to help out w/ production costs for the film you can shop at the handmade nation etsy shop. where you can purchase this awesome craftifesto poster illustrated by kate bingaman-burt.  what a great way to support craft community! (don't wait on this one folks, it'll be gone quickly for sure!) stay tuned to my love for you in the coming weeks for a q&a w/ the lady behind it all; faythe levine. in the meantime you can find out lots more info on the handmade nation blog.

ugly ducklings.

hey, do you want to be inspired?  do you want to get out of the winter doldrums and start creating again?  do you want to stop acting like tivo is your new bff (i'm partly talking to myself here, sorry.) and feel rejuvied all over again?  if so, go here and watch the trailer to the documentary, beautiful losers.  it's amazing and wonderful and you will be inspired.  i promise.  more info on the film here. or if you are too lazy to even leave this page then just watch the kind of crappier version below.  jeez, winter hit you bad, huh?

"what melody will see him in my arms again."*

in the summer of 2000 in san francisco someguy (that's the name he goes by, i'm not being rude.) started passing out 100 journals to friends and leaving them in various places.  he had no real intentions, he had always been fascinated by public graffiti and wanted to see what people would do w/ public sketchbooks.  soon, as most things involving an audience, his idea had become a project, and many people wanted to take part and get involved.  this made someguy think, why not 1000 journals?  why not send each journal out on their own?  a project began, and the journals took on lives of their own.

1000 journals, the film by andrea kruezhage, is about the lives of these journals.  the journeys they took.  the lives they touched.  the places they visited and the stories they keep. 

in september 2003, one of the 1000, number 526, returned to someguy, filled. what happened to the other 999? this film tells their stories. 1000 journals shares the experience of their worldwide journeys, and chronicles the self-governed collaboration of thousands of random people who have added to this global "message in a bottle".

you can check out the 1000 journals website here.  if you'd like to know more about the film go here. there is also a book and you can buy that here.  i believe there is a facebook page as well, but i can't fall into that abyss so you'll have to do that work on your own.  get crackin', there is so much to look at and so so so inspiring.

* cliquot by beirut.