linden leaf - handmade designs with a local heart

I'm getting ready.....

2010-05-12T13:53:00.003-05:00

For a very big weekend! This weekend I'll be selling my work at two Art Fairs, the Yinghua Art Fair in Northeast Minneapolis on Saturday, and the Linden Hills Festival in, well, Linden Hills. I've been scurrying around all week getting everything ready for these two great events.

I'm especially happy that I was able to crank out a new linden leaf banner for my table, created entirely out of vintage clothes and fabric scraps. This project has totallly inspired me to sew more often

Here's what you can expect if you make the trek out to either of these great events this weekend:

-um, me. hi! can't wait to meet you!
-my art. i'll have tons of cards and prints for sale at special art fair prices!
-new packaging. boxed card sets! matted prints! oh my.
- great weather. i breathed the biggest sigh of relief and excitement when i saw this.
-other great artists at yinghua, offering tons of handmade goodness
-sebastian joe's ice cream and pony rides at the LHF.
-yes i said PONY RIDES. i kid you not. how can you top that honestly

so come on down! make sure to stop by and say hi!

-h

New Designs!

2010-05-07T08:52:00.004-05:00

Hooray for new designs!

These cute little guys are now available as 5x7 prints in the Etsy shop . Enjoy your day!

-h

Happy May!

2010-05-06T09:02:00.004-05:00

Here's this month's calendar! Inspired by an old poster for the Heart of the Beast May Day parade. Created using patterned and solid paper and an exacto knife

If you have never been to the Heart of the Beast's May Day parade...well...you're about 6 days too late. But PLEASE put it on your calendar for next year. The parade is simply amazing. Last year performers were handing out vegetables for your garden as part of the parades theme...really, can you get much better than. Honestly. One of my favorite varieties of lettuce in the garden that year too, I might add.

Hope your May is a fantastic one!

-h

I heart you, i like you!

2010-04-30T19:12:00.005-05:00

So this is big news.
Are you ready?

A selection of my cards and prints are now available at i like you! i like you is a fantastic store in northeast minneapolis sellling all kind of art and gifts, mostly created by local artists. i've been smitten with i like you for a while, and I am so thrilled to be a part of their fantastic collection. this place is great - as an online review states, "it looks like etsy threw up all over the store!" and it does - in the best way possible. My prints featured at i like you also come matted, an extra bonus that makes popping them into a frame that much easier.

To celebrate this exciting event, i'm going to try something - a little giveaway of sorts. if you visit i like you and see my work, leave a comment letting me know which prints you see on display, and i'll give away a FREE 5x7 print of your choice to the first person who comments! We'll see how long this takes, as this is a pretty new blog.

So anyways, thanks, i like you, for liking me too! :)

-h

A Year in Minneapolis calendar project

2010-03-27T10:43:00.006-05:00

Today I'm going to share a project that I'm in the midst of that started as a Christmas present this past December. I love making Christmas presents for family and friends - in fact, that was how Linden Leaf Designs was born several years ago. This year, I decided to make a calendar for family based on the theme "a year in Minneapolis", that would portray a different local festival or event every month. The way I decided to do it was to give the January calendar as a gift in a frame, and then make and send out new calendar sheets monthly. I don't think I really knew what I was in for, but it's been a lot of fun so far. I just finished up April's design, and I thought I would share it and past months with you. I'll start with January, whose inspiration was the St. Paul Winter Carnival:

Next came February, inspired by the Minneapolis Loppet, an urban cross country ski race my parents participate in every year:
Next came March, celebrating the St. Paul Saint Patrick's Day parade. I had a lot of fun making this guy:
And finally comes April, celebrating the return of outdoor baseball to Minneapolis!

Like I said, creating and mailing these calendars out every month has been a BIT ambitious, but a fun excuse to keep in touch with family.

cheers,
helen

YET another sneak peek!

2010-03-25T22:36:00.008-05:00

Hi, again! Here's another sneek peek of some new designs that are on their way into my Etsy shop:"Family"

These designs are a little bit of a departure from the local theme that's usually a big part of my work, but were a lot of fun to work on. I'm participating in the Yinghua Art Fair, part of Art-A-Whirl, this May, and wanted to make some special designs for the occasion. Yinghua is a Public Chinese Immersion school in Northeast Minneapolis, so that was the inspiration for these designs.
"Peace"
"Joy"

I, of course, know NO Chinese, so I hope I did the beautiful characters justice. I'm so excited for the art fairs of spring - not so very far away! Make sure to check back on Etsy for these and other new designs to come!

cheers,
helen

New designs sneak peek!

2010-03-21T22:39:00.004-05:00

Hi, everyone!

For my FIRST EVER POST I've decided to share a special treat: a sneak peek of new Linden Leaf designs!

I'm really excited about both of these designs, featuring two amazing minneapolis landmarks - the Grain Belt Beer sign and the Midtown Global Market. The grain belt sign was a suggestion by someone who bought a print last December, and I absolutely love the Global Market inside and out, so I had a lot of fun with both of these designs. As with most of the work I do, these were both created by hand entirely out of paper.

I've often been asked about my process, which is somewhere in between a paper cut and a collage. I'll cover how I make my designs in a later post. but for now, enjoy! These will be available as 5x7, 8x10, and 12x16 prints this coming week on Etsy , so be sure to check them out! And check back here for more sneak peeks and behind the scenes info about linden leaf designs!

Cheers,
helen