Martha's So-Called Life

introducing martha florence // the shop

Lately I've been struggling with my online shop.  I haven't really been into creating new things for it or giving it the attention that it deserves.  I think it was because I was trying too hard to make things that fit together and belong under the umbrella of "Kiva & Co."  Since I have a day job, I figured this side business venture should be fun and I should enjoy making whatever I put into it.  

Enter Martha Florence // the shop.  I like to make stuff...and I want to share it.  No theme or specific medium, just things I made.  Don't worry, I'll only be selling things that are of a quality that I would purchase myself, you won't be buying my crafting mishaps.  The even better news is that if I decide to make only one of something and you are lucky enough to be the one who purchases it...you will have a one-of-a-kind item.  That's way better than something that everyone else has!  

I am planning on having a few of my best-selling cards listed as long as they keep selling.  

I currently only have three items listed and am testing out a new ecommerce website.  I have the free version at the moment, so I can only list five items with one photo each.  Depending on how things go, I might be upgrading soon (if not, I'll go back to coding my own shop as I did before).  

Let me know what you think...and stop by often as inventory will most likely change frequently!

puerperium

A finished sweater!

I made this for a co-worker.  I can't remember exactly what the yarn is, but I think it's Malabrigo sock yarn.  The pattern is called Beyond Puerprium.  It was hard to choose a color since they didn't know the gender of the baby before HE was born! 

I love how this turned out!  I have had several requests for this in an adult size...I'm not sure if I'm ready to take that on yet...

winter and holiday cards

I just listed a couple of new card sets in the shop. Both are the same hand drawn pattern, but one is winter inspired colors and the other is holiday inspired. 

The winter herringbone cards can be purchased here, and the holiday herringbone cards can be purchased here.

Both come in sets of 8, but as always I can make sets of more or less, just let me know!  

2012 photo book (better late than never)

I mentioned recently that I am attempting to have more tangible photos around.  I take a lot of photos and I don't like that they all live in my computer or on my phone.  After seeing this photo book, I decided that I wanted to do something similar with all my Instagram photos from 2012.  

Sometime during the middle of the year last year, I started working on my book.  I uploaded my photos from my phone to my computer, then I uploaded them to the blurb website.  There's an autofill option if you want the website to do all the work, but I wanted to have my photos in a specific order with specific templates for each page (either full page or a grid of four photos).  I chose a 7x7 book with a hardcover.  

As each subsequent month passed, I uploaded the photos from that month and added them to the layout.  It was a fun way to go through all the random photos I take.  I also started noticing trends...I take a lot of photos of my dog, and food.  

Due to the low resolution of the Instagram photos, I kept getting a warning that my photos were not high quality enough to use in full page spreads.  But I didn't really care and went with it anyway.  Some of the larger photos came out a little grainy, but it's hardly noticeable.  

Once I got the book in the mail, I started adding handwritten text where it seemed appropriate.  Even though it has taken me a ridiculously long time to finish this book, I'm really happy with it!

I used a Pigma Micron pen to write on the pages.  It's the perfect pen for the job because it dries quickly and doesn't smudge.  Being a lefty, such things are important to me.  

This was a super simple and relatively inexpensive way to get photos into my hands.  My Instagram photos often are some of my favorites because they are mostly of normal everyday life, in 10 years I'll look at this and marvel at what my life used to be like!

fyi - I used an affiliate link to blurb.com website in this post.  Use the link and the code BLURBBOOK15 to save 15% on your order. 

current projects

I feel like I've got a lot going on right now...and yet I can't seem to accomplish anything.  

My desktop (not my computer desktop, my actual physical desktop) currently looks like this...

No cleaning or organizing occurred prior to the taking of that photo...it's 100% real life.  

So here's what I'm working on at the moment...

Postcards 

I'm creating some postcards out of photos for my shop.  I have so many photos that I love and feel like I need to do something with.  I thought this would be a fun way to get some of them off my computer and out into the world.  

I'm still working out how I want the back side to look, and am undecided as to whether I'll offer them as sets (possibly with a variety of photos in each set) or singles.  Please let me know if you have an opinion or are interested in these!

Arctic Valley Website

I volunteered to take on the website for Arctic Valley.  I enjoy playing around with website design, and figuring out how to make things look the way I want them to look is always a fun challenge.  This will be an ongoing project, so if you are interested, check the website often as I'm sure it will look different at least once a week (for now)!

Summer Book

This is another facet of my quest to do something with my photos...a little book about my summer adventures.

I don't want to call it a scrapbook because it's mostly just photos and a bit of text, but I guess it's kind of a scrapbook of sorts.  I have plans to make things like this more often because I think it's nice to have something to hold and flip through rather than having all of my photos live in my computer.  

I'll share more about the postcards and the summer book when they are done, or have evolved more!

creating my 2013 training log

I like paper and notebooks.  I didn't realize how much I liked them until I started tracking all of my miles online and in a spreadsheet.  I always had the urge to print out the spreadsheet and keep it in a binder so I could have a paper record of what I've done.  For some reason it doesn't really feel like I've done anything unless I use a pen to write it down.  

That being said, I've had a ridiculously hard time coming up with a good way to log my running on paper.  I like that my online log can be used to make graphs (who doesn't love a good graph?), and can hold a lot of information that may or may not be important.  I've tried to create a spreadsheet that keeps the things that I think are important, but it's hard to make notes in a spreadsheet.  So, I decided I would go back to logging things on paper.  

I debated whether I should make up a log on the computer and print it out, use a 2013 planner, or just wing it and make something myself.  I decided to make something myself.   

At Fred Meyer I found a composition book with grid paper in it (I also adore grid paper…), so I decided I would start with that and turn it into something wonderful.  

I brought it home and covered it with some fun paper (I used this tutorial with some modifications).

Then I decided that I wanted both a month overview at the beginning of each month and then weekly pages to follow.  In my current system I had my plan written (in pencil) on month printouts and then I entered it into a spreadsheet (what I post on my "current training" page) and I entered it into the software I use to log my running online (because three copies are better than one?).  I discovered that I found the actual pieces of paper easiest to reference when I couldn't remember what I was supposed to do for the day.  

I counted squares and divided appropriately to get a month on a two page spread.  Then I got out my ruler and my pen and started drawing lines!

For the weekly pages I had a hard time decided how to break up the pages.  Most of the issue lies in the fact that my week starts on Sunday so either Sun/Mon have to share a space or Fri/Sat have to share (most calendars have the weekends sharing a line…but my weekends are broken up across weeks).  I decided Fri/Sat would probably be fine.  I could always adjust later. 

Initially I decided to have the layout resemble what you might see in a traditional printed planner, but then I remembered this tutorial and thought that making columns for days might work better.

This is obviously a work in progress and since I'm making it up as I go along (I have not outlined more than a week ahead since I don't want to commit until I decide I like the layout) I can change it to meet my needs whenever I want!  

fall shop update

I just listed a couple of new items in the shop this morning...and I have more coming (although they may not make it until after I have finished all of my fall traveling)! 

First are the fall colors dishcloths:

100% cotton, perfect for the kitchen or as a washcloth.  They are chunky and soft for all your cleaning needs!!

I also listed some eco-friendly cloths:

Made from 75% recycled cotton!  The other 25% of the fiber is acrylic, which I usually hate to work with, but I think it works with this blend.  The yarn (and the finished product) don't feel scratchy or stiff like most yarns with acrylic in them. 

I've been crocheting like a mad woman to get these done!  They don't take terribly long, so it's quite satisfying to sit down be done with a set in a couple of hours.  

fun with fabric

I have been really into sewing the last few days.  My creative tendencies come in phases.  Sometimes I'm really into sewing, sometimes knitting, sometimes sewing, sometimes nothing.  

It all started when I decided I needed a bag to carry my small knitting projects around in.  I generally have them in a ziploc bag in my purse, but then the knitting needles poke holes in the bag rendering it useless for anything other than knitting projects...and then it gets worn out and isn't even good for knitting projects anymore.  I found several simple tutorials online and created my own bag out of "home decor" fabric that I got at JoAnn Fabrics for $2.

Then I decided that I wanted to make something else.  But what?  Well, good thing the Arctic Valley annual auction is coming up (Sept 22...you should go if you live in the Anchorage area)...because I decided to sew up a couple of iPad covers to donate.  

Kiva helped me make them...

I finished the first one...

And moved on the the second one...

I'm almost finished with the one with the bikes (I'm kind of obsessed with this fabric...I should have bought the whole bolt).  I got distracted yesterday and had to take care of real life business (i.e. grocery shopping...ugh). The weather is still nasty today, so I should be able to finish this one up this afternoon!  

Of course, my brain was working overtime while I was making these and I came up with 10,000 other awesome projects I could do.  Now if I could just find a way to fund them...and something to do with them when I was done.  

more waiting (and sock progress)

Still more waiting to be done around here.  Hopefully we will know tomorrow when we are going to Vermont.  

In the mean time I've been doing a little running and trying to psych myself up for Lost Lake.  I forgot to pick up my bib yesterday, so now I have to do it the morning of the race (not really a big deal, but I'm sad I forgot...I don't like forgetting). 

Here's the progress I've made on my socks so far (and yes I was knitting at work, we have enjoyed a few not terribly busy days, so I have taken full advantage of every free moment)...

lazy monday

I didn't accomplish much today, which is fine since I didn't have much to accomplish. 

First I went running this morning with Amber.  It wasn't the best run, I think I was tired from my hill tempo/long run yesterday.  

Then I came home and discovered the best breakfast ever.  It sounds (and looks) terrible, but it was quite delicious.  I chopped up two hardboiled eggs and topped them with guacamole and salsa.  Yum!  

Next I did a lot of knitting.  

And was reminded of why I like John so much...

No, not because I can use him for his travel discounts...because he's so agreeable!  

I pretty much didn't move until I left for my dinner date with Valerie.  

Tomorrow should prove equally exciting.  I have my track workout, and we are going to help John's mom move some stuff, and maybe even go to Costco.  

The excitement might prove to be too much for me...