E is for Embroider Everything!

For the sake of generating enough work for each letter, each letter will be planned as a 3 page spread (6 pages). The first spread is a blank page on the left and an intro on the right. The into includes the E is for Embroider everything, a 1 paragraph description, a rating, a small list of other crafty words and a small teaser image. The next 4 pages/2 spreads is the imagery. For E this include; 1 page of sewn samples (on raw linen?), 1 page of sewn envelopes/stationary/cards, 2 pages of embroidered clothes (undies, jumper and maybe shoes?)

K is for Kleptomania

Kleptos are the ultimate greenies, they have a carbon footprint of zero (as far as statistics can tell) and are regularly pulling a Robin Hood by bringing profits from the big guys (Nestle) back into the local community. I recommend becoming one, or making sure you live with one. It's what the planet would want. Sharing is caring and stealing is appealing! 

Beeswax Facts

Facts about beeswax from an Etsy seller;

Beeswax has been used since the beginning of civilization. It has been found in pharoah’s tombs, amongst sunken Viking shipwrecks and Roman ruins.

When honey bees make their wax, it's actually an off-white color, and the beautiful golden hue and scent in our candles comes from the honey, nectar and pollen which get mixed in during the honey harvest and processing.

Beeswax candles naturally emit negative ions. This process binds dust, odor and allergen particles together in the air, making them too heavy to float around and pulling them to the ground where they can be easily swept up and never find their way into your lungs and sinuses. This especially makes beeswax the ultimate burn for anyone with asthma, allergies or sensitive sinuses.
Beeswax burns cleaner and longer than paraffin, soy, palm, or any other wax on the market. (99% of conventional candles are made from chemical paraffin).

Paraffin is a byproduct of the crude oil industry and burning this wax emits toxins and carcinogens which have been known to cause cancer, birth defects, and diseases such as asthma.

Although soy is a healthier alternative to paraffin, the truth is that soy has a very dirty carbon footprint. Soy is one of the most heavily sprayed crops with chemical pesticides which ends up in our soil and water system. It’s also one of the main causes of deforestation in the amazon, wiping out millions of acres of rain forest and unfortunately is almost always genetically modified. The more soy we buy, the more our planet will be punished in the production.

Beeswax production has a ZERO carbon footprint - in fact - being delivered on the wings of honey bees, the only byproduct of this fuel is colorful pollenated flowers and sweet golden honey.

On a side note - if you haven't heard about CCD (colony collapse disorder), US based beekeepers have been hit hard by the dying off of hundreds of millions of their pollinating honey bees. By supporting beeswax, you're helping to fund their ongoing efforts to stay afloat in this troubling time and find a solution to the vanishing of the bees (and in due time, the decline of the flowering plants of the food chain which we all love.. by right, the bees do pollinate 1/3 of -all- fruits and vegetables) 

S is for Stealing Succulents

Also today I finished the Sophie Calle book. Im inspired by her poise, confidence and devotion to her projects. She brings a (french) attitude that allows the project to unravel itself and she takes every stage with a sense of 'modest seriousness' no matter how grand or tiny the result. Also like a true performance artist she has a lot of respect for how things fall. 

The A-Z of Eco Crafts

After some email feedback with my tutor it looks like the A-Z of Eco Crafts is the best idea to follow up on, and I can push this a bit further with my ideas, language and layout to really rough it up. I need to revise the A-Z list and really challenge it. I also need to start on some of the ideas as I need to see how these will look side by side and work as a book. 

The Complete A-Z of Eco Crafts, by Me! 

A -
B - branches/beeswax/beads
C - chalk/crayons/cats/copper
D - dance/disco/movement is free
E - envelopes/embroidery
F - flowers/felts/fluros/fruit with faces
G - garlands/green livin/garlic/gold
H - 
I - iridescent 
J - jars/japan fukashima
K -
L - lino stamps
M - magazines/masks
N - newspaper
O - onion skins/oak leaves/orchids
P - paper bark/pink/potato stamps/propagation/pickling/pasta art
Q - Queers? 
R - ribbons
S - sea glass/seeds/stencils/stuffing/stealing
T - textiles/tartans
U - undies
V - vines/venus fly traps/vegetation/veggie scraps
W - wood/worms/wire/whales
X - xmas
Y - 
Z -

B is for Bee - Demo

If I'm going with the A-Z idea, this is a quick demo of how each page could looks. Features including;

- a large letter

- 1 paragraph of text

- the topic (i.e. bees) visualised as an original (made by me) pattern.

- I also have the option of blending topics; if B stands for Beads and Bees, I can do beaded bees. 

-this layout is probably too basic, and I'd be looking to do something creative with the large B (GREAT type) and also play around with framing elements in the page. I do however like to keep my text blocks simple and square. 

Project Theme

Following on from my posts on rules and conventions, I'm still brainstorming a way to heavily curate the project into a place where the work I have to do is very obvious and the intellectual strength of the project is heightened. I want to come at the topic from a unique and interesting view point. Here are 6 solutions on how to curate it;

1. A-Z of Illustrated Indexed Projects (as discussed in the previous post).

2. Random Ephemera - a bunch of different projects and thoughts messily compiled.

3. Recipe Cards of Indexed Projects - Sebastian's idea. A different way of doing idea 1.

4. Focus on 3 categories/chapters; plant living, textile reuse and dance. View these as 3 different ways you can enrich your experience and life in Sydney.

5. Choose a number (ie. 50) and complete that many pages/projects.

6. Collaborate with people to create stories/interviews, craft pieces and photographs which is compiled into a storybook/ideas book about green Sydney.

Rules and Conventions Cont.

Following on from todays post about rules and conventions, I'm toiling over the idea of creating an A-Z book. Initially I thought each letter should represent an environmental topic within Sydney. When this exhausted me I thought each letter should reflect something Adam France - this had me giggling. Then I experimented with blending the two notions; and A-Z of eco craft ideas and materials. Each topic would be creatively visualised as a image/illustration/pattern using relevant materials. Some have multiple options, most are incomplete at the moment. Here are the 3 lists in progress;

1. A-Z of Illustrated Environmental Issues of Sydney

A -
B - bees
C -
D - dance
E - energy/Eora
F - food waste
G - greenhouse gas emissions
H - herbs at home
I -
J -
K -
L - local markets
M - mulch
N -
O - organic and non gmo
P - public transport
Q -
R - recycling
S -
T - trash
U - upcycling
V - vertical gardens
W - worm frams
X -
Y -
Z -

2. A-Z of Adam France Crafts

A -
B - beads
C - crayons/cats
D - dance/disco
E - embroidery
F - fluros/felts/flowers/fruit with faces
G - green livin/greece/gaga
H - The Help
I - illustration/iridescent
J - Japan
K -
L - lgbtqi
M - masks/marigolds
N - nail art/neon
O - opals/orchids/oak leaves
P - pipe cleaners/pokemon/pink/plaid
Q - Queers
R - rose gold
S - sailor moon/stencils
T - textas/tartan/twisties
U - undies
V - vegetation/voodoo/venus fly traps
W - whales/whoopi goldburg
X - Xmas
Y - Yodeling
Z - Zeus and the Greek Gods!

3. A-Z of Eco Crafts

A -
B - branches/beeswax
C - chalk/crayons
D -
E - envelopes
F - flowers
G - garlands
H -
I -
J - jars
K -
L - lino stamps
M - magazines
N - newspaper
O - onion skins
P - paper bark
Q -
R - ribbons
S - sea glass/seeds
T - textiles
U -
V - vines
W - wood/worms/wire
X -
Y -
Z -

Rules and Conventions

Now I'm halfway through Sophie Calle's book, it's helped me push the boundaries on what the contents and rules of my piece should be. I was feeling overwhelmed at the thought of creating the whole thing (writing, crafting, designing) and creating a conventional book like that is something that the tutors have advised against. But Calle reminds me - as did the 2 examples from last years students - that you can create a book of non linear, concept driven work. So instead of having 8 chapters, a few projects within each one (which I was mapping out and dreading a bit) I am now looking to impose some really strict rules and conventions - in the way that a student from last year chose to create 50 logos for 50 figures from the 1950s. I want to develop some rules similar to this; for example 50 pages of varying illustrations each to an environmental issue within Sydney, such as bees, plants, rooftop gardens. Then each gets illustrated through the mediums I've already been proposing to work with (embroidered, drawn...). This could be called An Illustrated Index to Green Sydney.

Choosing '50' as a number/goal is one strategy of putting a rule over the project, another could be the create an A-Z of (illustrated) environmental issues within Sydney. For example:

B - Bee decline
G - Greenhouse gas emissions
E - Energy
U - Upcycling
V- Vertical Gardening
W- Worm farming

Deciding, Challenges and Concerns

It's clearly demo book #3 for the win. This project has always been rooted in the green issues, and the book is heavily textile focused anyway - so this leaves me with some freedom to do a few works without. Having the green issue at the heart of this project is the leg I can lean on when this project gets confusing, so I should cut it off. The pink book can happen in the future. Now I feel like I've come full circle on the project and am right back at the second blog post - making green craft projects. Back then it was for the campaign but not its for myself and in a book. However my concerns and challenges are;

- Is a book the right format/could it be 1 part of the project. What is the climate of craft books (Beci Orpin...) and do I have enough time to do a professional job - a lot of time needs to be spent on the projects before the book (i.e. embroidery...)

- Can I complete a list of craft projects to an extremely high and polished standard to look like they were professionally made, photographed and presented?

- How many projects should I attempt? Is this enough for a big book? Can I choose better projects?

- How much writing is involved; I'm not shy of a bit but to get it to a high standard is difficult.

Goals for tomorrow (Friday)

- Rewrite the contents, elaborate on them and edit them to a tentative number. Strengthen them! Add more, remove some... edit edit edit.

- Using white A3 project fold a demo book and layout the pages... see how this feels, reflect.

- Write a draft for the introduction to the book/project

- Plan what project I am going to complete by next Wednesday

- Do a timeline for this whole project, can it work?

Book #3 Demo

The third final book is the little book of Green Livin Crafts - art, craft, designs and imaginative solutions for crafting during a depression, by Adam France. Everything is eco! The contents reads;

1. Crafting

- hanging wall art

- garland

- confetti

- chalk

2. Plant art

- pressing

- sewing

- stealing clippings and growing them

3. Products

- sourcing and making eco products;

- tea towels

4. Gift wrapping

- with newspaper

- with fabric

5. Stationary?

6. Pattern making

- stamps 

- natural materials (rocks...)

7. Sewing

- felts

- embroidery

8. Clothes

- make your own

9. Jars

- top ways to reuse

10. Workshop

- 30 people make a 'xxxx'

11. Dance

- the ultimate free body creation

- photos

12. Xmas

- decoration

- dip dying leaves in gold 

Book #2 Demo

Contents for book #2; The little book of PINK - arts, crafts, designs and other crap by Adam France. (Colour to be confirmed - pink or orange?)

1. 5 illustrations

- using various pink mediums

2. gift wrap

- make your own paper

- customise

3. 5 patterns

- non illustrative patterns

- using 5 different techniques

4. 5 textiles

- embroidery with beads X 2

- embroidery with thread

- felt

5. Flowers

- sewing flowers

- flower arranging?

6. Sewing

- toys

- masks

- crap

7. Clothes

- styling

- customising

8.  Workshop

- 30 people make a 'xxxx'

9. Crafts

- garlands

- wall art

- cushions

- masks

10. Xmas

- decorations

Book #1 Demo

I'm now going to flesh out the probably contents of 3 different books. On top of writing the contents here I'm going to make a mock version with paper to see how it reads. This post is for Book #1 - (tentatively titled) The little book of textile projects - arts, crafts, designs and more crap by Adam France. The contents reads:

1. 5 illustration

- printed on fabric

- silk screened

- digitally printed

2. 5 embroideries

- recycled beads

- typographic embroidery

- felt embroidery

- recycled fabrics

3. Dying

- natural dyes (made fun)

- applications

4. Toys

- DIY

- Freaky toy collection

5. Non illustrative patterns

- stamped onto fabric

- drawn onto fabric

- different ways to apply images to fabric

6. Felts

- sewing with

- dying

- felting fun

7. 4 Crafting projects

- garlands

- hanging wall art

- cushions

- masks

8. With nature

- sewing flowers

- flower art

9. Dance/Body play

- clothes/costume play and photography

10. Products

- scarfs

- tea towels

- blazers

11. Workshops

- 30 people make a 'xxxx' and the outcomes

12. Installations

- 1 big textile work

13. Xmas

- decorations, ie. felt genitals for your Xmas tree.

(I don't know how I would ever do all this, I'll have to make a smaller selection) as it has to be made into a beautiful book too. Gah!

Tutorial Recap/Moving Forward

Wednesday's class was another refresh, giving me new goals for the coming week.

Project feedback included;
- Don't worry about green cities, think more about green/DIY/recylced.
- Look into Sophie Calle (new post coming soon)
- Explore play
- If doing a book, look into confides and tasks
- Consider digital aspects too and the current climate for book publication
- The book could use the fabric samples/catalogue
- Be very systematic with the craft/book production
- Consider children as a part of my audience
- Could critique City of Sydney, use their left overs or satire their existing ideas

This weeks goals are;
- Create 3 ideas for genres of books (e.g.; textiles, PINK and typographic)
- For each of these ideas, create a contents page of 8 projects, each with its own rules. Really push the ideas!
- Decide on a genre, contents page and make 1 of the 8 projects!
- Create a font

Prototype #8

Knowing that class (and my 1 weekly catch up with my tutor) is tomorrow, I wanted to have as many ideas squeezed out of me as possible. So here is prototype #8, hopefully the last one as tomorrow we can decide on one of the 8 and start to refine and create within that idea.

Prototype #8 is titled 'the little book of textile reuse' and encompasses many of the ideas from the previous prototypes however this allows refines the field to textiles. The book would be similar to the craft book I have proposed in #6 and #4.

Content would include embroideries (using beads found at second hand stores), sewn patterns, drawn patterns, characters (from reclaimed fabrics) and craft objects (garlands, cushions, wall pieces).

On top of purely second hand reclaimed materials, the book explores more sustainable options such as different textiles to use (hemp, felt) and ways to colour fabric (natural dyes). I'd love to have some fabric digitally printed but that depends on how green the process is.

Another aspect that would be included is plants; I'd like them to be involved in some of the projects such as using them for dyes, sewing with them and creating products for them.

The book aims to:
- Inspire people to create from their left overs
- Think twice about the textile industry
- Be more sustainably conscious
- Have far more fun with a green initiative

Inspiration:

Demos of Previous (Textile Applicable) Patterns

Prototype #7

The 1 main thing I learnt from reading through all the online project proposals was that the more inspiring and exciting ones had chosen a more farfetched concept, that pieced together odd topics and sounded great in a sentence. These included Elle's branding of the moon, Sebastian's teen survival kit for religious homes, Liv's designers guide to lost language, and Ellen's Honey Babys girl gang branding. I just wanted to see them all now! Or do my own version of them!

There were also other projects dealing with a eco/green influence; such a sustainable food and fashion. While these projects will be fantastic, I was reminded how often we hear these terms and how... flat they can read. With this in mind I still want my project to be green, but I don't want it to be defined by that - almost as if that fact is hidden in the small print and only revealed to councils for grants. Shhh!

Prototype #7 now bears that in mind and seeks to construct a 'far fetched, art/craft/design, eco' idea. After pausing at this sentence and scratching my head for an hour the answer is; Adam's eco craft textile catalogue. As I've mentioned I've worked in textiles for a while, and enjoy new alternatives and ways to deal with them. I also love Tsumori Chisato who blends illustration, embroidery and art into her converted textiles (image below). This catalogue would deal with eco notions such as sustainable fabrics, production methods and textile reuse. The textiles themselves would allow me to explore art, craft, illustration, design, embroidery (all my loves!) but regulate it to an eco textile medium. I could also explore some uses for some of these textiles - some being more art wall pieces, others being more fashion friendly. I'd also like to see the catalogue run as a consistent collection, so again some themes and restrictions would be put into place.

Final Proposal Document

On Sunday evening we had our refined proposal hand in. All the PDF's went up on a blog on UTS online and we all all got super snoopy by reading and critiquing each others. I think the document reads really clearly and sums up where I am. I am still really desperate for an outcome but aim to have that sorted this week; I need to talk through all the prototypes with my tutor. I want as much time as I can get to make the thing! 

This was mine;

The City of Sydney has committed to several goals to fulfill its 2030 Green City vision, these goals can be seen at both the 2030 website and partner site Green Villages. Here a range of initiatives are underway: from rooftop gardening to worm farm workshops. This project is my response to this context as an active and skilled designer/artist/craftsman, and also as a devoted inner city greenie. 

Where the problem lies in these initiatives is the momentum and excitement; often the bottom can fall out of a eco/green project as people have heard enough, can’t be bothered or find them uninspiring. So while the City of Sydney continues to invest in green projects, many opportunities are being missed and sydneysiders have become uninterested. 

This contrasts my goals as a designer;
I seek to incite play, joy and imagination. 

From here I’ll be finding opportunities to contribute, refresh, expand and excite. I’ll be developing a project that injects fresh blood into inner Sydney’s green scene. Since looking through all the material from the City of Sydney, my main area of interest is the DIY/creative areas, where environmentally friendly workshops, craft projects and gardening solutions have been proposed and promoted. Notably this is the Green Villages collaboration with mega website Etsy, that proposed 3 green craft projects: terrariums, macramé plant holders and fabric wrapping. This initiative shows that the City of Sydney is willing to get playful, and inspired me to think about further solutions and crafty projects. While this campaign has it’s flaws, it has set a benchmark that I aim to pole vault over.  

Since my research period has wrapped I’ve begun developing a series of ideas on how best to address this cause, while also enjoying and expanding my interests as a designer - this project is rooted in a cause, but is also a firework of my favorite creative ideas. An outcome is quickly shaping, and involves a creative campaign with fresh visuals and inspiring designs. Developing a bold new look for a green campaign is also a part of the project, as I’ve been warned of the dangers of green design - ‘just don’t use green’ I’ve been told. 

The project is likely to expand beyond this point, but ongoing work, a range of prototypes and many experiments are shaping my research, ideas and outcome. 

Prototype #6

Here comes a hybrid! After talking to a classmate, it is obvious that my prototypes are getting better (good news!) with #4 and #5 being the strongest to date. For this prototype I want to blend the strengths of these two prototypes.

This project is a (small) book of wild green ideas. Including crafts, illustrations, polished works, writing and photos. There is DIY moments and there are calmer moments where work is showcased. I could incorporate a small workshop area (as I love that idea!). The book focuses on my initiatives, how they are green, and how they inspire green thinking. The book is similar to a craft book, only some of the ideas have been taken further and are more art pieces. Again the book would also be a humour book and I'd look to add as much sass as I can without being a nut.

I'd like to put some constrains on the project to keep it small and selective, such as every page only has visuals in a circle box or the whole book only deals with things that are PINK; 'The Little Book of Pink" or "The Little Book of Green". (Or I still love orange... am I going mad?)

The first step of this project would be going to the art supplies store and buying every single thing in my colour pallet. Thats motive enough for a craftie like me. 

Developing Visuals; Unique Font, Illustration, Colours

As my pintrest boards have been building, themes and interests have emerged for my visual language. Here is my attempt to process these scattered boards into some solid ideas, which I can move forwards with.

THE UNIQUE FONT

Firstly is ideas for a unique font. As soon as this is sorted I'm keen to start developing it; this week! Here are 3 approaches that are inspiring me at the moment.

This bold pink font is slightly illegible but so fun! I like the simple conversion of an existing font and the ruthless treatment. Very smack in the face pow pow pow! 

Like the previous image, this one duplicates an existing font but gives each a contrasting and complementing treatment; a pattern in one, a flat colour in the other. I'm already excited at the idea of crafting this myself! 

The final inspiration picture is a again very block'y font, but this one has had each letter broken into simple geometric forms and hand generated. The genius comes in where the creator has incorporated the printing method to creatively layer colours into successful mixes; pink and blue make purple, yellow and blue make green ext... I would like to do this again; hand generate my own blocky letters then in a new colour code play with layering to mix new blends. Fantastic!

ILLUSTRATION STYLE

Only 2 illustration styles have stuck with me, probably because they are my favourite and what I already work with. 

The first idea is (my usual) scribbly edges. This takes a lot of precision and repeats to perfect each illustration but makes my heart melt when it is done well. 

The second approach is more relevant to my freelance work where I spend a lot of time on illustrator generating artwork - I've got good at vector art as a result. Its odd this is such a contrast to my first scribbly idea as this is everything that idea is not; sharp edges, flat colour and a very contrived process. 

Another idea is to do both; draw over the flat vector images. 

COLOUR CODES

Pink has for a long time been my main girl. It's politically loaded, ignorant, gender sneaky, and so incredibly infectious (a good and bad thing at times). This colour code includes; baby pink, strong pink, grey and a charcoal/deep blue. Also some black and white. Examples below. 

My second colour code is rooted in Orange - a colour associated with creativity. Similar to pink I find orange infectious and burning. This scheme would use a deep orange, light orange, golden yellow and occasionally some pink/orange blend. The inspiration images also remind me that this combo looks best on a cream background. 

SO WHAT DO MY INSTINCTS SAY?

Right now its the second idea for the unique font, the first idea for the illustration and the orange combo for the colours. What do you think?

Prototype #5

Each prototype seems to be a stepping stone onto the next (still desperately seeking dry land/the final idea!) As I was writing my conclusion to the last prototype, this one was born. I've gone away and thought about it for a few hours and here it is, incomplete and everything!

The previous prototypes have been focusing on craft, maybe too much. This prototype looks at removing that from the project and focusing on design and art, which is a far more polished field (this interests me). Again applying this idea to my context (Green Sydney), this project sees me focus on creating strong, polished and professional artistic visuals that can be applied to Green designs. These means illustrations and digital works, for green products (recycled papers and eco textiles?) and a visual identity. At the moment I could imagine this expanding into a small collection of items - not dissimilar to Jenny Kee's brand, which is small and simple; some art, some classic prints and a small capsule collection.  I'm interested in shaping a brand/collection like this because small and resourceful textile based brands is what I have been working for/with over the last 2 years - creating prints and doing graphic design work for Serpent and the Swan, Dion Lee, Romance Was Born and Rachel Castle.

Jenny Kee's opal print is a winner!

Prototype #4

It was when I was talking to my friend and collaborator Cleo that I remembered my love of collaboration and community.

For this prototype I am proposing a book of green art, craft, and design ideas. Each idea will be explained by me, with the following page showing 20-30 outcomes created by peers in a workshop. Between now and hand in I would develop the series of craft ideas and have 1-2 workshop days with a large number of people to try out the ideas and photograph the unique outcomes. Each idea will be as green as possible - recycled papers, threads, ect...

This projet would also involve a written intro to each idea, and in the spirit of Amy Sedaris (and my love of tongue-in-cheek writing) I would happily do these. The book will also be visually styled to reflect my 'brand' and work as a colourful inspiration book as we'll as a craft ideas book.

The gaps in this project are that there is a lot to do - can I do this in the time frame? My other problem is that this could get very caught up in the craft exercises and stray from the design decisions and also from the core of my project, which is it's context as a City of Sydney related green initiative.

Prototype #3

It sort of sparked in my head a few posts ago that creating a visual language for council related green projects was an interesting and playful area for this project. This prototype looks at doing just this as the sole project; developing a highly refined, very well designed, playful and exciting visual language for green projects.

To round out Prototype #3 as a full bodied project, I'd love to develop a set of 3 identities (again all for the same brief) but examine and critique how each can capture the essence of the green movement from different angles - such as using the colour green in visual communication (outdated or relevant to green design?)

This project would link back to the Green Villages website, from where it would take it's deliverables - such as logos, banners, fonts, flags, and small campaigns.

Wether this prototype goes ahead or not, creating a modern and exciting visual language for green initiatives is a large aspect of my project.

Prototype #2

So after a little breather yesterday, and a small panic, I'm taking from today till next Wednesday to whip out a prototype EVERYDAY! This stage needs to move quicker or I'm not going to have time to create some really detailed work. Panic panic panic... picnic. Ha

Prototype #2 seeks to stay within the environmental, recycled, and Sydney based boundary but within this space do what I as a designer want to do - AKA what Amy Sedaris would do (a range of crazed projects that scream AMY). In this prototype I will create ephemera of all nature (within the boundaries listed). This means illustration, art, craft, typography, and dance all captured in images. These can then be put into a book, onto posters, or a digital context. I would aim to create X amount of pieces under this project (each a small project of it's own) which together portray my signature creative stance on the environmental cause. Smaller projects could include;

- A new font
- Photographs of an eco dance
- Patterns made out of trash
- A series of recycled craft projects
- Some art installations
- Embroideries
- Illustrations
- A small amount of writing (intro...)

My Hero; Amy Sedaris!

Amy Sedaris is an American actor/comedian, famous for her series Strangers With Candy. Since that wrapped 5 or so years back, she is now famous for her guest stints and 2 best seller books. Of these 1 is titled 'Simple Times - Crafts for Poor People', which is a huge coffee table book comprising of the worlds most adorable but beyond useless crafts. It's created from Amy's twisted lil mind and she smiles her way through it, with many photo shoots adding to the fun. 

After prototype #1 was so obedient and well behaved, an Amy inspired approach is where I'm going for prototype #2. Amy is my hero and lives tha life! 

Pics from Simple Times;

YES YES YES!