Our New House....

Well, I MAY have gotta a little TOO into this, but living in the Bay Area, I may never get a real people size one....

Me and the chittles found this on the curb. We painted it, accessorized it and looked all over our messy house for tiny treasures. Then. WE PLAYED WITH IT!

Great PINK Hope

I am honored to be selected in many Etsy Treasuries, but this one...

Check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=60919

My Little Piece O Heaven

So this is where I disappear to when I can...

GrunSugar!

GRUNSUGAR!
So I took my art pieces and put them in their own etsy shop;
There are just 13 pieces now, but I am "procuring" more wooden canvases to piant on. Aaron is hooking me up with some wood scraps from his kitchen redo and we have a dresser that was left for scavenging that Jimbo needs to bust up for me. I'm gonna ask him tah bust up that thar chifferobe for me, for those of you who can appreciate a good "To Kill A Mockingbird" qoute. I always can, clearly.
So, anyway I'm workin on that and if any of Y'all in the Bay Area have some non-toxic wood that I may reclaim, give me a hollar(to complete the hillbilly theme).

Now, if Hank and Olivia would just stay in their room quietly for several hours....

Here are some GrunSugar Sweeties:

MAMA Tree

So People always ask me where the name Majkatree comes from and what in the world does it mean? Well, I'll tell you. When trying to come up with a name for my budding handmade business, I wanted something that represented who I was, who I aspired to be, and the sisterhood of this world of mothers. Well, Mamatree was taken and it just didn't seem, um international, as I feel that a mother is a mother is a mother, and whether you sleep with your kids on a rattan mat on a dirt floor or a cold cabin or an inner city high rise, simply put, we mamas all love our babies. In keeping with that vibe, I decided to choose a name utterly unique, so I wouldn't be confused with some foreign mom troupe, and interculturally earth mother. "Majka" means mama in 5 languages! Bosnian, Croation, Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian. Plus, I liked the way it felt leaving my lips. Being a nature lover and a tree admirer, even if I trip and fall sometimes, I love the many aspects of trees and in particular, the way the branches grow and drop seeds to begin other trees, even in other places the wind has blown them. And like a mother, she has room for many in her arms and grows more strong and beautiful with age.

HELLO MARCH!

March on in and take a gander! I just wanted to put this out there in case, you know, it catches on...
When you gather your produce at the market, why not reuse the ones you used last time. OR..you can save those bread and bagel bags as well. And if you really want to get all awesome, fix yourself up with some of those washable, reusable net produce bags that so many of my rad etsy sistas and brothas are sellin' super cheap!
Oh, and here are some cute kids...

HANK AND OLIVIA SWEET AND SASSY

Is This Guy Good or What?

Hands off ladies, he's mine! Jb Painting, or as I like to call him, Jimbo, or as Hank and Olivia like to call him, Daddy, has got more to offer than just J Crew model good looks and juggling, he is an amazing artist who creates works that mood you out and vagabond up your pad. There is a certain magic in ordinary places as they are what frames our memories of times good and bad. Jim captures that melancholy and reminds us to squint our eyes and look closer.
Check it out at: www.jbpainting.etsy.com and jimbensman.blogspot.com

Watercolor Box Pouch

Spring Forward Hoooo Boy! I'm gettin' early spring fever with these natural fabrics and painter's palette colors! Puttin' on the pop with my mid century modern fettish and my afro mama fantasies!
It's been a long cold(I love it actually) winter and well, my head has been full of new crafty ideas while my kids fill my days with their zany ways.
I am going to take a shot at a tutorial, just still deciding what to tute! But here are some new items that sit on etsy, may they inspire.
I took some no frills vinyl strap bracelets that my daughter had just wasting away, and I put some felt appliques on them and voila! An easy and relatively quick craft fix for my mojo and some inexpensive and modern, whimsical bits of color for the stone fox you know you are!
Also, I just want to give a shout out to my February etsy customers who really are just nice folks and while I'm gushin' it sort of amazes me how darn friendly and accommodating esty folks are. Customers and my fellow sellers, as well, restore my zen love of humanity and make me just want to have tea with all of em.'It seems that arts and crafts attract really good peeps. Well, we knew that.

Paper AND Plastic Are Heinous And Fabric Bags are Cute!

Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who brought bags to the store with me. I know we all forget, and I'll give ya some help with that following this blog, but man, I would think that by now EVERYBODY would have them up on that belt before their groceries. I have been making Alternatives to the paper/plastic resource dilemma for awhile now, and I know that we all love a cute bag, AND, I dare mention, I am not the only one pumpin'out these bags, so what gives?
I have an assortment when I go, sure, but they are not plastic, except for the couple of trader Joe's bags I still have kickin' around, and YES, I do forget, but I have gotton better and it feels really good when I buy an enormous amount of food and didn't need a single store bag because I brought, like seven of my own. So I would like to give everyone who is in the sound of my blog to check out the assortment on etsy! My etsy would be the absolute best, of course, but if you can't hang with my products, let etsy suck ya in for awhile and take a good look at all the fabulous handmade bags out there. Some $5. even! And you know, deep down that it would feel pretty awesome to have YOUR bags be something interesting for all to see as you stroll out of the wonderful and yummy but overpriced Whole Foods! Try it, man. Earth friendly doesn't have to be ugly.

Tips for getting your bags to the store with you:

-Put those suckers in your car
-Put those suckers by the door
-Wad them up and put them in your purse, backpack, or satchel
-Put a bag in all of those places so chances are no matter what you will at least have one
-Shop once a week lightly so you will carry less and spend less and need fewwer bags to have around
-keep a list that you continually add to and write at the topBAGS so when you review it before you leave(if you are that organized)you will be reminded
-LAST: BUY A STYLISH ECO FRIENDLY MARKET BAG OR TWO SO YOU WILL BE EXCITED TO BRING THOSE WITH YOU TO ANY STORE AND EVEN USE IT FOR OTHER STUFF!!!!

New Year, New Stuff!

Happy New Year Planet Earth! It's been wonderful creating and sharing and learning with so many fellow crafters and earthlings! I hope the positive vibe that has begun in our country can spread throughout the universe! I have certainly been busy, not just with my kids and laundry, but with so many ideas that keep me awake at night. I have launched my etsy website shop(www.majkatree.etsy.com), introduced my screen printed bags and pouches, and recently, an old love; painting has cropped up and squatted down on some lovely found pieces of reclaimed wood. Don't ya just love when something old and seemingly unusable gets a new incarnation as something new and fabulous!? I get so excited when I see something peeking out from a rubbish pile that may have some life in it yet, and we all want to help reduce waste and be a little more creative about how we deal with "stuff." As for my bags; they are accumulating as my passion for making them grows. Thankfully some of you guys have taken some of them off my hands for me! I scout out new and modern fabrics everyday and as with anything else, I find fabric in some unusual places: Old dresses, Husband's old shirts sheets-new and old-, tablecloths, and even old bags and purses! I also seem to uncover new pieces faster than I can keep up with! Here are a few photos , and remember, I am always open to your ideas, comments and custom requests.