Daisy Janie

design inspired by snowy handrail.

It's a rare day when my roving eye misses the geometric inspiration found in the mundane. If you're a follower of my blog or work, you may already know that I like to stretch my design muscles by *trying* to create repeats from obscure objects, textures & shapes or random doodles. 95% of the time this activity is simply a way for me to segue from one major task to the next or a nice background activity while I'm in a big think about something. I suppose I could take a walk around the block to clear my head, but I'd have to keep my my eyes shut to additional inspiration - and that might not end well.

Truly, it's such a release to sit here and manipulate the h-e-double-toothpick out of these shapes. And as luck would have it, another 50% of the time these kooky designs contain incredibly functional elements that I wouldn't have discovered otherwise. [yeeha!]

This snowy handrail is a perfect example. It doesn't look like much at the very top - just a cute letter J. But once I cropped the image and tessellated the squares, a distinct and pleasing pattern emerged that triggered other ideas worth trying out. Even the pattern created by the foliage in-between the scrolls was useful in the iteration below. Do you see it? This is really addictive - try it out! You'll have the added bonus of knowing your design is 100% original!

winter scroll | chocolate (c) 2010 Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

winter scroll | mustard (c) 2010 Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

winter scroll | verde (c) 2010 Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

seeing | winsome threesome.

Said a boy to his mama when playing Horse (basketball) in the backyard the other day, "Are you smelling the lilacs AGAIN? Are you going to smell them everytime it's not your turn?"

I think you know the answers to both of those questions.

lucky winners.

Thank you so very much to everyone who hopped & commented their way through the Earth Day Organic Fabric Giveaway! I was incredibly moved by your adjectives, exclamation points, gratitude and enthusiasm for organic fabrics and for Geo Grand specifically! By choosing to produce organics, I feel like I've gone out on a limb in a lot of ways...and while I hang on to my branch for dear life with one hand, I drop seeds of hope to the ground with my other. Your comments served as the little push these seeds needed to get a tiny bit further into the fertile soil. Soon, sun & rain will reach them, they'll be flourishing on their own, and I can jump down from my branch to join all of you in sewing and basking in the satisfaction of knowing we're doing our part for Mother Earth. "You must be the change you want to see in the world." - Gandhi

Tammy E. is the lucky winner of 6 fat quarters from my not-yet-released Geo Grand collection. When I notified Tammy to congratulate her, she said:
"I'm so excited about these fabrics. I'm about to start a baby quilt for a close friend but hadn't yet picked out the fabric. I think these will be perfect! Thank you so much. This was such a wonderful giveaway. Even if I hadn't won anything, I was happy to have been introduced to so many inspiring blogs."

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The other lucky winner in this giveaway was little ole me b/c I was treated to a barrage of creativity left in your comments! I was on the edge of my seat with every sweet note and spectacular idea for Geo Grand. With my background in marketing research, my head was swirling from the overload of data input. I had to compile it into a digestible format: a graph! If you need some new ideas for your sewing endeavors, this might help!

For me, this is def where my right brain & left brain meet to duel - processing facts & figures into a summary that shows the real picture. This is a simple bar graph, yet it reveals some very interesting trends as to who my customers might be and myriad other analyses that go along with this. However, the information is processed with a few caveats b/c the type of person who might respond to a giveaway as well as how I've summarized the data can potentially distort what you *think* you know about your customers. It's critical to look at information like this both quantitatively and qualitatively so as to get the most out of it. And at the end of all of this, I balance what I see with what my instincts tell me - the gut check.

Do you like to look at things from different perspectives before drawing conclusions?
Do you plow forward on instinct and never look back?

words & music: steer by missy higgins.

photo from our Summer '09 road trip out west - perfect for this post.

I started listening to this song again recently. It makes the 'highs' and 'ups' along which I'm rolling right now feel even higher & more uppy - the latest background music to the video of my life & work. I visualize myself walking trailrunning along the ridge of a mountain up which I've been climbing for far too many years, and I finally feel free of the physical & emotional burdens that were holding me back and making the trudge so challenging. Truly, the real climb of my work (on the wholesale side of organic fabric) has only just begun, but it's a self-directed hike that feels marvelously unencumbered and unusually refreshing. Aaaaaaaah......

When I latch onto a song for a phase, I must learn the words asap so I can sing at the top of my lungs when I play it ad nauseum .. letting the chips of connotation fall where they may. I know I'm not the only one - what's your song right now?

"Steer" by Missy Higgins

Feel it falling off like clothing
Taste it rolling on your tongue
See the lights above you glowing
Oh and breathe them deep into your lungs

It was always simple, not hidden hard
You've been pulling at the strings playing puppeteer for kings
And you've had enough

But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know that you control where you go
You can steer

So hold this feeling like a newborn
Of freedom surging through your veins
You have opened up a new door
So bring on the wind, fire and rain

It was always simple, not hidden hard
You've been played at a game called remembering your name
And you stuffed it up

But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know that you control where you go
You can steer

'Cos you've been listening for answers
But the city screams and all your dreams go unheard

But the search ends here
Where the night is totally clear
And your heart is fierce
So now you finally know that you control where you go
You can steer
Year get out of the box and step into the clear
'Cos now you finally know you can steer

recipe | basic granola.

Sort of fitting (in a treehuggerly kind of way) to post a granola recipe the day after Earth Day, yes? Well, if the shoe fits, wear it ... or eat it perhaps (b/c wearing granola would be weird).

This is a basic, basic, basic recipe for making granola - a foundation for creating myriad variations each & every time you bake it. Suggestions following recipe.

Basic Granola
6 C rolled oats
1/2 C olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 C pure honey
1-1/2 t vanilla extract
1 t cinnamon
dash of salt

Add oats to large bowl. In separate bowl, blend other ingredients. Pour liquid mixture over oats & stir until well coated. Spread evenly onto jellyroll pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins; every 10 mins, remove from oven, gently stir & turn so it doesn’t burn on the bottom. Let cool until crisp. Store at room temp for up to 2 weeks.
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Baking Suggestions
+ Use regular rolled oats as opposed to quick-cooking oats for a heartier & heart-healthier granola.
+ Try heating the liquid ingredients (so honey melts) prior to adding to oats for a bit more crunch.
+ Use a silicone-coated parchment made with unbleached paper for an eco-friendly choice. I use these products from IF YOU CARE.
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Recipe Variations
+ Try pure maple syrup instead of honey.
+ Swap out half the honey for blackstrap molasses - it will taste chocolatey.
+ BEFORE BAKING: Add 1/2 C of chopped nuts, sesame seeds, wheat germ and/or flax seeds to oats. For each 1/2 C of dry ingredients added, I would add about 2 T more of oil & honey. Experiment & keep notes for yourself!
+ AFTER BAKING: Add 1/2 c dried cranberries, cherries or raisins right after removing from oven. 
+ I have experimented with adding all-natural peanut butter with mixed results. Good luck if you try it!
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Serving Suggestions
+ add milk for regular 'ole cereal.
+ add a heaping spoon or two to plain or sweetened Greek yogurt. Try this homemade version from Vana at Le Papier Studio.
+ sprinkle onto all-natural vanilla ice cream, like Breyer's

You really can't go wrong with this basic recipe as long as your dry ingredients are well coated with an even mix of oil & honey AND you stir when baking...critical. Enjoy!

earth day organic fabric giveaway. times 12.

In honor of Earth Day 2010, I have invited some of the very best organic fabric designers / producers in the biz to participate in a collective fabric giveaway - and lucky for both of us, they said yes! This will be a blog-hop giveaway format, where you'll enter here, then proceed to the next blog to enter there, and so on.

By choosing to manufacture organic fabrics, these women take action for a cleaner, healthier planet every. single. day. Earth Day for us, then, is not about doing something different on this one day; it's about underscoring, punctuating and highlighting what we already do on a regular basis that is different - for those who may not know or fully comprehend how imperative it is to make greener choices.

We offer these individual organic fabric giveaways to you as a way of celebrating the Earth, each other and you - our customers & readers - who appreciate the efforts we're making for a better planet. And to show you just how beautiful & colorful being green can be...

For the Earth Day Organic Fabric Giveaway, Daisy Janie is offering a fat quarter of each of the fabrics in my Geo Grand collection (shown above), which won't be in stores for another month!

Enter here to win a fat qtr pack of my 6 Geo Grand fabrics by leaving a comment about what you might like to make from this collection. Contest ends Monday at 10am EST. One random winner will be selected. One entry per person; duplicate entries will be deleted.

Once you enter here, hop to the next giveaway on the list below.
Have fun & good luck!

Betz White
Birch Fabrics
Cloud9 Fabrics
Cottage Industrialist
Harmony Art
Homesweet
ink & spindle
loop
Monaluna
Swanky Swell
Umbrella Prints

sale alert | 25% off organic canvas & organic sateen.

I am feeling super pumped about Geo Grand making its way here as I write this post as well as a new collection of retail fabric I'm working on for my etsy shop...so I'm sharing my bliss with you in the form of big savings on my current organic fabrics. Plus, things are a bit crowded around here these days!

Crowded House Sale:
From now until next Tuesday (4/27), save 25% on all full yards and fat quarters of organic canvas & organic sateen in my etsy shop!

+ canvas yards are $48 ... regularly $64
+ canvas fat qtrs are $12  ... regularly $16

+ sateen yards are $42 ... regularly $56
+ sateen fat qtrs are $10.50 ... regularly $14

If you've been a lurker and thinking, "Gosh, I really love Daisy Janie's etsy fabrics, but I just can't spend x-amount on them," then this sale might be just right for you! I can't offer lower prices everyday b/c my printing costs are what they are, but a 1-week sale is worth it if it gives you the opportunity you've been hoping for! Thanks for your consideration...as always!

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EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT
12 organic fabric designers / producers have teamed up to offer a fun blog-hop giveaway in honor of Earth Day. The giveaway will launch tomorrow evening at 6 pm EST...stay tuned for details....

seeing | life unfurling.

Some days, the images find me. They seem to know exactly what I'm feeling, and they present themselves as quiet, precious gifts...validating my deepest thoughts. I sincerely believe we see what we need to see when we need to see it. 

What have you seen that has affirmed your innermost ponderings?

behold. custom silver necklace with logo element.

This past December, I was going on & on to my husband about the beautiful necklaces Jean Cameron of 3squares made with my fabric (see below). I mentioned in passing that, in addition to hers, I'd love a silver pendant made in the shape of the leaf symbol from my logo. Little did I know that not only was he listening but he was also scheming birthday presents for my 40th. Brilliant timing. Blimey!

He sought out a silver jewelry artist on etsy (Mushka Designs) and arranged to have her make a custom pendant. With absolutely no input from me, he hit the nail on the head! It was exactly what I had envisioned...I was surprised, shocked, elated and completely overcome. A gesture from the heart that continues to win brownie points! I think our husbands are paying more attention than we think, yes?

The leaf element in my logo comes from my Bloom fabric (shown above). It's my best-selling fabric design to date, by leaps & bounds. It's also a very special fabric to me b/c it was the first fabric I designed with my own taste in mind and where my only goal was to stay true to myself...and not give one iota about what someone else might think. It was a breakthrough moment, to be sure, b/c I felt liberated from my insecurities. This leaf element is a constant reminder to me to trust my instincts above all else. Good things have certainly come from doing so, and as they say, "The proof is in the pudding."

Above:
To continue the branding theme, I use the mod leaf symbol in my package stickers, some of my avatars and my twitter and website backgrounds.

Below:
I'm feeling pretty lucky to own 2 fabulous & unique necklaces derived from my Bloom fabric: Mushka Designs on the left & 3squares on the right. 

pics from the corning museum of glass.

Over Easter weekend, we took a road trip to Corning, NY. My husband read about it on a 'best small towns in the US' website somewhere. We're always in search of Main St. communities in unique locations with lots to do & see, and Corning did not disappoint.

From the Experience Corning NY website:
"Corning, New York is a small city with a cosmopolitan flair and a captivating history. Nestled in a river valley with steep hills, Corning is also a southern gateway into the beautiful Finger Lakes Region of Central New York. Corning is world renowned for its glassmaking past and present. Discover the art, history and science of glass at the state of the art Corning Museum of Glass."

The best part of the trip was visiting the Corning Museum of Glass. Wow! I had no idea it would be sooo comprehensive. From the history of glassmaking to the art of glassmaking, they covered everything. Guests are permitted to take non-flash photography, so I snapped a few to share with you!

I think this was called Crazy Quilt. Adorable.

Tiny, tiny, tiny glass strands melded together to form a bowl that looks like it's made of hair. Wow!!!

Gorgeous, modern plum bowl. Restraint in art always flips me out! When I think of the sheer & utter perfection achieved in the line of this piece in the face of a very dynamic medium, my head practically explodes. No margin for error.

Left: Drippy, drapey pieces hung from meat hooks and other industrial machine parts...little juxtapostion & sensory assault to keep you on your toes.
Right: A striae of color and texture, seemingly attached by oversized staples.Totally cool! Love the femininity of the technique and silhouette, balanced by the masculine staples. I'm all over the metaphors for this one!
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From vessels to jewelry, our ancestors were rockin' the glass scene in 1500 BC! The amulets below were used to make charm necklaces and bracelets.

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There was massive wall of paperweights from around the world, and each one was as astounding as can be. The detail, the detail, the detail....good gracious! It makes me feel like I need to slow down a bit and not be so fast-food oriented about my art!

We even had an opportunity to blow our own glass, within the constraints of their designs & color choices...but it was still fantastic. I will share those another day...