lindambarrett

gentle reminders

Every now an again its nice to receive a gentle reminder from my dad - letting me know he is still around me - sending me love from the other side. Every so often I get little taps from him (in our own special ways we still communicate) but lately - perhaps because either I haven't asked or I haven't been paying attention - I've been missing them.

With mother's day coming up this weekend I'm really hoping I/we get a great sign. Not so much for me, but for my mom. It might sound funny, but my dad always made "mom's day" super special. And, with mother's day coming up I feel his loss pressing upon my heart, knowing that he was my mom's companion, her partner in all things, her champion of family and great moms! And well, his lack of physical presence is something I know my mom misses so very much. 

Dad used to tease my mom because every time they wuold be walking from the car - across any parking lot - after breakfast, to or from church, grocery shopping - my mom would be looking down spying for shiny coins on the ground. 

Well, not long after my dad passed away whenever we asked for a sign from him... we'd spot those shiny coins on the ground. I remember one day (not long after sharing this fact with a close friend) when I was having a particularly stressful time in my life, I recall asking my dad to support me,  and if he could send me a sign that he heard me that would be great.  Well, that next day I remember having to work on the weekend visiting a store in Evanston.  I had gotten out of my car and walked up to the meter only to realize that I didn't have change in my wallet. Bummed, I began to walk back to my car when out of the corner of my eye I spotted something shiny - I looked down and there on the street was a scattering of coins. Not my typical single penny (that by the way would have been enough for a sign) but there were nickles, dimes, quaters, pennies -  I totally laughed out loud and then said "thanks dad".  I got back into my car and immediately called my friend - knowing she'd "get it" and to celebrate the moment.

So this weekend, when we go out for our annual mother's day drive (something dad was big on) I'll be looking for a special sign from him - along the path to breakfast, across the parking lot going to church and wherever we go that day - watching out for the sign that he's had heard my little prayer for a "gentle reminder".

Cheers, and blessings to all those moms out there who could use gentle reminders that they are loved!

Linda ~ love your life & do good!

vintage photos for personal stationery

Nothing is better than inventing from old family photos for creating the perfect personalized gift. I'm lucky because my Granddad on my Mom's side, was both a Cubs fan and keen on taking loads of pictures - both traits I am grateful to attribute to him from the gene pool. 

So, sometime ago, I gathered a wonderful collection of these vintage images and turned them into the perfect personal stationery gift set for my mom. Working with my Epson color printer I positioned the photos on the scanner bed then printed the images directly onto the card stock.

Not all printers like to take cover weight  (pre-scored card stock), so you should probably do some tests with your machine - for defining both the placement of your images along with feeding paper into the carrier - to create your collection. I used Mohawk superfine white for my mom's folded card collection and paired them with gravel envelopes.

To present them to her as a gift, I added some wonderful labels , which I had purchased awhile ago from work (at Paper Source) - then tied it with a matching ribbon all neatly tucked into an A7 Box Mailer.

She loved this gift so much that she couldn't bear to mail them. In the end I had to print a few extra cards so that she wouldn't feel that they were too precious to send. Once she had these extra in hand she penned a note to her sister with a photograph she knew she'd love seeing after all those years.

With a computer filled with images and boxes more under my bed - no doubt this won't be the last of these stationery collections for gift giving this year!

Cheers,

Linda  ~love your life & do good!

 

 

my giraffe baby t - sketch & watercolor

an upcoming baby shower for this next week has had me percolating on some new ideas both for the decor and gift giving. 

this sketch and watercolor of a sweet giraffe spying a little butterfly is what has come out of me this weekend as the final drawing for a t-shirt transfer on little onesies!

i hope she likes them...i never know how long they last after being washed, but know my colleague loves giraffes and this is right up her alley.

cheers, 

linda

the Big R, a "clouds" book - and a donation!

My dad, Bob Barrett, was a pretty generous guy. He was always participating in some golf outing, donating to a fund raiser, or gathering with a group of friends to attend a charity that he knew was supporting a worthy cause or foundation.

When he passed away unexpectedly on October 15, 2008,  "THE BIG R",  as we fondly referred to him, left more than a huge void in our family - he left one with all who were touched by his generosity.

Knowing he would want us to continue to do our part to give to those in need, we decided as a family, to create an annual golf outing and do some fund raising towards a few of our favorite organizations, all in his honor!

Since not everyone can make it to the event this year (on July 24, 2010), I have created a limited edition handmade book, with 14 pages/photographs, titled “Clouds” for $20. The intention here is that for those wanting to buy a book - the money will go directly to the fund (and to the charities listed on the website).  What could be better - buy a book for $20 and it all goes to charity!!  There are only 30 copies available - 15 have already sold - so if you are interested please contact me asap!

 

 

 

you can see more images here on my facebook album

Any one interested in a book/s, please notify me at lmbphoto@aol.com.
Please make the checks for $23.20 (which includes the cost of postage) - payable to: Robert M Barrett Memorial Fund-Trust__9611 S. Muirfield Dr. Village of Lakewood, IL 60014.  I will be posting the book/s in the mail, approximately 2 days after receipt of your check, along with the tax donation thank you.

“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” John Wesley

Thanks for all your support!

xoxo Linda

one of the things i love most about my job at paper-source, is getting to design new products - especially new kits!
i feel fortunate to have the ability to combine my love of craft while inventing workshops - providing such great potential to share so many tips and techniques all at the same time.
 
it's been awhile since the orginal drop spine box kits i designed (so many years ago) came out, and given that i've always loved making frames, it seemed only logical to try to invent something for those fellow gluing and bookbinding types - with a handmade frame kit in mind.

i especially dreamt of the day when all the pieces would be pre-die cut..no measuring, no cutting, no hassels! we'll hallelujeh - this sans board cutting project has finally arrived - while the kit won't hit the streets until the fall - the die came early enough for me to create a workshop!

http://blog.paper-source.com/stores/picture-this-handmade-frames/

if you get a chance, check out this new project -- sorry for the short notice-- we have it as a new class running tomorrow nationally, but last minute sign-ups are always welcome. so fun!

tell me what you think.

cheers and happy gluing!
linda

the first contributor - my mom!

This book is a part of series of 5 books. Each is a collaborative venture between myself and 24 other people. Each book asks the question:

"What would you do if you met yourself in time?" 

Inspired by a letter from Robert Frost to his editor (which I have featured at the bottom of this post). Four books will ultimately be sent in a different direction heading North, South, East and West.  

I took the "South" book to Florida for the first contribution to be made by my mom. 

Here are some of the photos of the finished covers on the "South" book - each book will be slightly different on the covers, so stay tuned for the next one.

  

 the back /front covers with hand writing -scanned- over a collage of deconstructed clock - representing time...
 

 

plus a few shots of the interior page numbers 

and colophon page.

As each contributor finishes their page, I have asked that they log onto the blog to add their comments and to tell me where the book is presently. 

I can't wait to see where the book goes next. 

Inspiration

 

 

Here is the letter, which inspired the question presented for this book, from Robert Frost, of the

"The Road Not Taken", to his editor Susan Ward, written in 1911.

 Two lonely crossroads that themselves cross each other I have walked several times this winter without meeting or overtaking so much as a single person on foot or on runners. The practically unbroken conditions of both, for several days after a snow or a blow proves that neither is much traveled. Judge then how surprised I was the other evening as I came down one to see a man, who to my own unfamiliar eyes and in the dusk looked for all the world like myself, coming down the other, his approach to the point where our paths must intersect being so timed that unless one of us pulled up we must inevitably collide. I felt as if I was going to meet my own image in a slanting mirror. Or say I felt as we slowly converged on the same point with the same noiseless yet laborious strides as if we were two images about to float together with the uncrossing of someone's eyes. I verily expected to take up or absorb this other self and feel the stronger by the addition for the three-mile journey home. But I didn't go forward to the touch. I stood still in wonderment and let him pass by; and that, too, with the fatal omission of not trying to find out by a comparison of lives and immediate and remote interests what could have brought us by crossing paths to the same point in the wilderness at the same moment of nightfall. Some purpose I doubt not, if we could but have made it out. I like a coincidence almost as well as an incongruity.    ~ Robert Frost

 

Please feel free to share your thoughts on the question posed...

"What would you do if you met yourself in time?"

Cheers,

Linda 

the book is done and in the press!

What a great day, the book is done and sitting in the press until the morning!

here are some of the steps for finishing the pages and creating the covers...

  
the stitching is finished using some great linen thread

the crash is on the spine, over hand made japanese tissue...

and the lovely linen book cloth is printed with text describing where we should meet in time...

the covers are completed and ready for the pages to be cased in...

   

here are some close ups of the cover and the

collage scanned images layered over text are printed on the book cloth for the covers then glued and ready for the press

each of my 4 books entitled "What would you do if you met yourself in time?" is heading a different direction: North, South, East and West.

the first one - this one - is being sent off to my mom...

 

I can't wait to see what people put on the pages!  more images to come once it's out of the press in the morning!

night, and sweet dreams of traveling through time!

linda

grandpa stories - honoring tree planting

Excerpts from “Grandpa Stories”

Short stories written by Linda Marie Barrett,  for my Dad in 2000

(Submitted in memory of  my father and his father, my grandfather Michael R. Barrett, who arrived in the United States of America from Castleisland, Ireland – via Liverpool, England, UK, -- aboard the ship Cedric on  February 28, 1920.)

Sent out on the full moon honoring both the date my grandafther arrived into the US but celebrating the launch of

Treewhispers  site officially opening it's provibial doors!   Visit and post your own tree story!

Shovels & Wheelbarrows 

-Part 1

 

Certainty knows no bounds when it comes to understanding my grandfather’s time with the soil, his shovels and his wheelbarrow.

 

This was indeed a man who handled his shovels as if a prize on a shelf, a badge to shine on his shirt. His wheelbarrow was a piece of magic, the size of which seemed far too large for its travel in my grandpa’s car trunk. But those gleaming shovels, clean and free of dirt, and that larger than life wheelbarrow, seemed to go with him everywhere he and his Olds ’98 traveled. 

 

I imagine that coming from Ireland, from a land of rocks, and hills, and farming – with green misty views reaching to infinity – that he grew up with the land in him.  So it shouldn’t surprise me to wake in the morning (usually some Saturday morning at 6:30 a.m.) to find my grandpa in our backyard. He would be planting his second --or perhaps even third-- blue spruce (another thing I am certain was his favorites).

 

My brothers and I would hear his wide deep digging shovel grip the gravely dirt – then would come the drag of soil to the surface – the thud of the earth meeting the mound he had formed. We would lie in our beds half awake, half asleep, knowing our grandfather was doing the thing he was most alive doing…digging in the land. More importantly, our backyard!

 

My Dad and Saturday Mornings 

-Part 2

 

Now mind you, it’s a great thing to be so connected to the land, but it’s another not to tell someone you’re feeling connected to “their land,” “their yard.” Oh yes, of this I am also certain -- there were days that my dad would have loved a notice posted of:

“INTENT TO EXCAVATE YOUR YARD FOR TREE PLANTING.”

 

Collectively us kid’s, would know our time of half-awake and half-asleep had ended -- and when fully awake had arrived -- when we heard my parent’s bedroom door open. First would come the light step of my mom in the hallway heading towards the kitchen, minutes later we could smell the sweetness of cinnamon rolls and icing baking. I am convinced now that this was my mom’s way of signaling a kind of “chore-warning.”

 

Confirmation of this alert was given when my parent’s bedroom door opened for the second time. My dad had a way of opening their bedroom door – which pushed a gust of wind under each of ours – along with a way of stepping out into the hallway that declared a litany of chores that lie ahead on any given Saturday.  

 

Door Opening Sounds

-Part 3

 

There existed several proclamations within each of my dad’s door opening wind gusts:

 

1. The “let’s clean the garage” – door opening sound

(of which the stories are so great in length & quantity – they would best be left for another day and another book entirely of its own).

 

2. The arbitrary, “let’s all wake-up cause it feels too late to still be asleep” – door opening sound.

 

3. The “you stayed out to late last night, so get your butt outta bed” – door opening sound.

 

4. The “let’s have a party and invite lots of people – so get up and clean every dish & glass, mow the lawn, wash the floors, clean the garage, and oh by the way, let’s redecorate” – door opening sound.

 

and of course…

 

5. The gust of wind and sound combination of: “your grandpa’s here planting trees and I didn’t know anything about it…but you’re all gonna get up and help – before he digs up all the trees we’ve already planted and moves them” – door opening sound.

 

Us 

- Final part

 

Each of these particular door-opening signals would be followed up with the triple knock on each of our bedroom doors and the somewhat military-ish delivery of “rise – n – shine.”

 

Indeed as time has passed, the years have provided me with rich recollections. There were important messages there for me – this was a lesson in learning about my grandfather’s time, which created my father’s time, which in turn r-e-i-n-c-a-r-n-a-t-e-d into something totally different in each of my five brothers and my own time.  And in the end, regardless of our bodies calling for sleep, it was tree-planting time; for my grandfather, with my grandfather, about his love of shovels & wheelbarrows, of trees, the soil, and most importantly us. 

 

Yes, of this I am truly certain, it was about his time – with us. 

The End...for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

love your life & do good!

This past Sunday I attended a benefit to raise funds for rebuilding an orphanage in Haiti, on behalf of the group Impact for Jesus. Visit the site and please by all means continue to contribute to the rebuilding of the much needed safe havens for these children. Read a bit more about the event and the people who created this amazing gathering of love!

Okay this is about two of my favorite guys - I mean way on the top of my list for changing the planet and building bridges for bringing people together-- always n the name of sharing, giving, rejoicing and remembering what we are here to do: "Love your life & Do good! 

Yep, that would be our good friend Brian Reynolds and my brother Michael.  The two of them put this whole fundraiser together in less than 10 days. Here's a fun shot of Brian (right), his son and a one of the guys from Impact for Jesus. And one of Michael (middle) with friends.

 

And, while some people in surrounding marketing positions told them they couldn't do it...well, they persevered and did it anyway! And I mean DID IT BIG!

They raised over $10700.00. Let that just settle in a minute...in one night friends and family opened their hearts through a simple invitation of music, gathering and a call to action. Pretty powerful stuff.

Don't you love that!

The best part is that number was before the final contributions made by Durty Nellies brothers Jim and Mark, offering 10% from food purchases. On top of that they hosted the venue at their wonderful bar and eatery in Palatine.  Mark was working it the whole night and it wasn't lost on anyone that this could have been a Sunday off to recuperate from a long week. What good people!

There were 3 bands playing, plenty of great raffles: guitars, drum pad, every sporting event ticket, restaurants, art and more, all prizes were coordinated by Brian's amazing wife Mary Jo and supported by good friend Bonnie...and so many more I wish I could name here.

Here a few fun shots from the evening:

 

   

...including a shot of the handmade book "love your life & do good!" -- which I made for the raffle and I'm pleased to say I also got a photo of the winner who I hope was as happy winning it as it was to make!

 

Here's to remembering how lucky we are to have each other, generous friends and the drive to say "we can" when others say you can't...because together we just built an orphanage out of LOVE!

cheers, (remember it's tax deductible...so keep giving!)

Linda

handmade books

after many months - i mean really almost a half a year - of not posting due to old mac not being compatible with the new type pad dashboards...ugh! I am now finally back and starting 2010 with some fund stuff.

my niece sara and i just finished the last of 6 copies of handmade books of her portfolio for her submission for arch grad school applications. i do hope they find them as pleasing to the eye and hand as we did.

 

i loved getting to spend time with sara.  we don't get to do this kind of stuff much, and i hope this wins her a spot in the school of her dreams. i can't wait til she gets her degree/s so she can build me my dream house i have scetched somewhere in an old trunk! 

alhtough secretly, i hope it's close to home so we can see her.

cheers and happy 2010!

linda