St. Jude Children's Hospital

One of the important aspects I wanted to incorporate into my project, The Creased Crane, has been the value of giving. I decided that I wanted 10% of all my profits to go to a charitable organization and this year my pick was St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Moved by the story of Sadako (Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes) and the belief that there is healing power in the art of folding the origami crane, I knew I wanted to donate to a children's hospital.

I got a bit of a late start to making any of my work available to sell in 2014 (I did have a brand new kid after all!) and wasn't able to get up and running until November. Between a few amazing and supportive friends and a fantastic turn out at the holiday craft fair in Cripple Creek in December, I was able to make just under $300.00 in sales this past year!

My 10% total allocated for donation was $29.60. I like round numbers though so $30.00 went to St. Jude this morning. It's not as much as I'd like but it sure feels good to be headed in a really positive direction!

If you're moved by any of my work and also like the fact that a portion of every sale goes to help others, visit my Etsy shop here: The Creased Crane

I'm working on a couple smaller parasol mobiles (see my big one on Etsy!) prefect for a nursery or just for your own decoration. I hope to have ready for sale by next month and move on to a few other exciting projects I'm lining up for the year!

If you have an idea and want something custom made for you, I LOVE custom projects!

And either way, I hope that 2015 is a great year for everyone!

Busy busy!

I am busy putting final touches on everything, cranking out the last ornaments and packing up for the Holiday Craft Fair in Cripple Creek this weekend! 

And my little helper is in on it too. Okay he isn't much help. He's actually a huge distraction and loves to interrupt me right when I'm in the groove. But he's also my main motivation. Funny how they do that isn't it?

So much to do!!

Holiday Ornaments and First Sales!

A couple of months back, I switched gears and became a holiday-ornament-making machine.

Today I have sold my first little birds!

The first two purchases on Etsy come from dear friends of mine. It's great to know that I have support from the people I care about and that is a big enough gift for the holidays to keep me warm!

The third comes from somebody I don't know! I find this particularly exciting. Sure, my friends are supporting me personally and that's a super huge deal but for all this other person knows, I'm a terrible lady. She just likes what I do! And enough to send the paper birds as a gift. Even better!

I'm in a heap of joy on this affirming Tuesday afternoon! For the first time since before my son was born, I have paying work to do. It's incredibly fulfilling to feel like I have a purpose outside of changing diapers and shoving mushy food into a tiny person's mouth -which is rewarding and tiring all at the same time.

So to those who supported me today, if you read this, THANK YOU! I may not have made a million bucks today but I sure feel like it!

The cranes that were purchased:

To see more or get cranes of your own, visit my Etsy shop here: The Creased Crane on Etsy!

Umbrella Mobile Part 1

Presently, I am working on a little cluster of exciting work using the complementary colors orange and blue to piece together a small collection to be sold on etsy later this year.

The first and larger of the mobiles is finished. I'm working on the second smaller parasol mobile and a few sets of ornaments I hope to have up before the Christmas slam. It's going to be a mad dash to the finish line!

Waking up to this piece every morning has been a genuine source of inspiration!

Butterfly Mobile for Kelly

A dear friend and her husband who have helped me navigate the waters of motherhood, opened up their wonderful home to me and my little one, and who have been an absolute saints to us were gifted this labor of love.

I love them both but when it comes to decorations in the home, I knew I was making this for Kelly's tastes. I had to create something with a strong nature feel. I used dropped branches found in Park National Forrest, handmade natural paper from Two Hands Paperie in Boulder, CO, and I tore apart an old brass necklace that I hadn't worn more than once. The brass hearts were fixed to chime in the wind and along with the glass beads give a bit of a whimsical feel.

Communikey Presents Kiss and Tell: The Rite of Spring 2011

Installation work I did for Communikey's Festival of Electronic arts in 2011 in Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in collaboration with Kiss and Tell's Seze Deveres Kasenic.

The link for the installation and additional photos can be found here:

Communikey Presents Kiss and Tell: The Rite of Spring

2013 Commissioned Work

Here is a commissioned origami crane mobile I did for a lovely family in Boulder, CO. It is made of recycled art magazine pages!

Crane mobile made in 2013