productive?

i pushed myself pretty hard this weekend to take on multiple projects and get them done. and i wasn't the only one who felt the same way. The most excitement that i got out of this weekend came this afternoon when i got to take a look at my very own handmade professional book press! it's a late Christmas present from my dad, he is one of those jack of all trades kind of guys...give him a piece of anything to build with and he will impress. isn't it magnificent! The press must weigh at least 40 or 50 pounds! It's made out of the most beautiful red oak and boy does it smell pretty too! my dad is the greatest! (i will be launching a photo tutorial on how to make your own book press very soon)

I also work a bit on some freshlyblended things...cut my tags, drew up some plans for another couple of book styles, and also got to the "finishing touches" stage on laras book. this was the teaser pic i emailed her..i won't be showing the whole book until she gets it down under cause i don't want to ruin the surprise!

along with making my books, i decided to get the watercolors out of storage but got a bit freaked out when i attempted to use them. this is pretty much how far i got!

...so i think for now it will have to be baby steps seen as i haven't painted in almost three years! i'm trying to figure out if my urge to draw again is associated with painting too or if maybe i should just stick with the structural designs of book making.... sometimes i feel like i should just move on and see what the more technical and design side of me still has to offer seen as i've been a pencil on paper girl for most of my life. but there is still something in me that just doesn't want to let it go, maybe i just need to try and meld them together and see what happens...
on the bright side, puppy-kitty is a happy camper right now. my mom and i made her the cat tunnel thats featured in the amy buter book, "in stitches". it was kind of a battle because it was so heavy from the fur interior, that it kept sagging. in the end we had to use a layer of reinforcement and two rings of boning at the opening and the other at the center. some advice if you plan on doing this project: make sure it doesn't sag before you stitch it all together because more then likely you will need to reinforce it like we had to. it's cute though cause it looks like a big orange and green caterpillar!