A Little Something

I will be headed on the first plane out of Oakland tomorrow morning to join in on the festivities at Alt Summit in Salt Lake City.  This will be my second time at the conference, and I get to go with Blurb, so I'm feeling pretty calm considering I don't know anyone really all that well.  I found the right dress to wear to the "Green" party, I've got my outfits packed, my seminars picked out (this will be the year of video!) and I finally seem to have kicked my wicked stomach bug.  After I hit the publish button on my last post, I stood up, got super sick, and went to bed for 20 hours.  I didn't know if I'd be able to get this one last thing done, but sitting and painting is actually really relaxing. Along with my business cards, I will also be handing out these little painted birch magnets as little takeaway to remember my blog by. I wanted to do something that would relate to my new book, which features projects that re-imagine simple materials into something useful and pretty.  To make your own follow the tutorial below. See you at Alt?  Come say hi! My name is Heather, and  I look like the silly girl up top without the paper crown and glasses.  
 

Painted Birch Magnets

Materials: Pre-cut birch pieces (Michaels, size Medium), 1/2" round magnets, acrylic paint, gold leaf paint, fine tip paint brushes, hot glue.

Step 1. Remove rough outer peel of of bark.  Clean 'em up. 

Step 2: carefully apply paint to the more attractive side of a birch piece. Start by making a ring around the outside, then filling in.

Step 3: After they have dried completely you can apply the magnet to the center of the back side, using a dollop of hot glue, pressing firmly for 10 seconds. 

Alt Bound

So I've been sitting on something kind of big for a few weeks...  Blurb is taking me to Alt Summit as their brand ambassador! I had originally decided to sit the conference out, I couldn't get my hands on a ticket, and when more became available the expense and time away seemed overwhelming, so I didn't pull the trigger. Around the time that I was working with Blurb on my video interview and the cook book author's food fair, I made it be known that I wanted to collaborate with them in some way for the conference. As a veteran attendee and a featured Blurb author, I thought I might have something unique to offer. Alt is all about honing your skills as a blogger and learning how to work with brands, and since I'd connected with Blurb last year we've really clicked. They took me up on it, and now I am also happy to announce that I just finished up my second book, in time for the conference at the end of the month where I'll be their featured author during their brand sponsored mini-party.  In this new book I showcase the work I've done over the last year or so using ordinary materials, re-imagined into something more permanent and beautiful.  It's called "Making A Modern Homestead".  Here's a sneak peek. 

Being Julia

As I can't imagine I will ever have a film crew in my home again, unless I win Publisher's Clearing House, if that's still a thing, I'm sharing some pictures from the day that Blurb came to Petaluma and taped an interview and cooking segment with me. It was a real life Julia Child moment. The video is part of a marketing piece for their recent Food Fair in San Francisco to promote their cookbook authors. I snapped a few photos in between filming...

And here it is, my "speaking on camera" debut, about my book. Oh boy...