Hobby Lobby Knows What’s Up

I am writing this post from a hotel room in Jackson, Tennessee.  I’m an officially registered Unionite with 6 classes next semester, three of which are studio art classes (whoop whoop!)  Although, in all honesty, my Tuesday/Thursdays are going to be killers.  My lunch and dinner will both be spent in class.  I’ll most likely be packing my food those days, but it’s all good.  Oh, and the dorms are awesome too – my own bedroom, and a bathroom that only has one door?  Yes, please.

But enough of that.  We went to Hobby Lobby today, and I’d just like to say, those people know what’s up – in rubber stamp style, that is.  I’ve never given Hobby Lobby much of a thought, considering the style of “home decor” they have over the majority of the store.  Don’t get me wrong, that style is great for some people, just not me.

But we were at the rubber stamp aisle (the sister needed stamps for her stationery shop), and I have to say, I’m seriously impressed.  I can’t really say the same for the rest of the store (again, personal opinion), but I’d just like to take the time to share with you some stamps that I would’ve bought if I had $100 to throw away randomly on rubber stamps.  I’m just impressed that Hobby Lobby seems to have an idea of what’s in style these days!  On a side note, I should totally be a style-spotter.  I don’t know entirely what that means, but whatever. :)

Oh, and just because I’m awesome like that, some of them are clickable if you want to find them online.  Excuse the blurry pictures!

Vintage Telephone Icon Stamp

Cuppa Tea stamp

How could I not love a stamp that looks like a Da Vinci sketch?!

Filmstrip Border stamp

Bicycle Works stamp

Vintage Camera stamp

Typewriter Stamp and Back Space stamp

Woodgrain Background stamp

Postcard stamp

Dad’s Truck stamp

Pennant stamp

Pointing Hand stamp

Typewriter alphabet

 

Aren’t all these stamps awesome?  Hobby Lobby obviously knows that “vintage” stuff is in style right now.  I always find so many neat design-y things when I go shopping, so I think I’ll start sharing my finds here more often.  It helps me so I don’t buy all the design stuff I love.  ;)  Now, go check out Hobby Lobby!

- Emily

 

(this is not a sponsored post, and all opinions are my own!)

I Will Follow

As some of you know, there was a possibility of my transferring to Union University this Fall. It has been a long, prayerful decision, but I believe that this is where God is leading me, at least for this semester.

When I left Radford in May, I told several people that I hoped to return in the Fall. For a while, I strongly believed that was where God was calling me; but I knew that I shouldn’t make a hasty decision, so I returned home and I continued to pray for God’s direction. I prayed for a closed door, because at the time both doors were wide open. And a door did close, but it wasn’t the door I was expecting to close. In fact, the door to Union opened wider. My fears of not being able to graduate in 3 years were eliminated; I found out I could CLEP about 5 classes, which would reduce my load by eliminating all of my winter semesters that I otherwise would have to take.

Eventually, I realized that as much as I resisted, my life is not my own. I told God that I would go where HE wanted me to go, even if that meant Union. It was easier for me to trust that God had a plan for me at Radford, where the opportunities weren’t as many, than it was for me to trust that God had a plan for me at Union.

One of the things that I wasn’t sure about Union was that there aren’t as many art classes for me to take. But there’s a song by TobyMac that goes “Take it away – my dreams, my fears, my family, – my career.” My career. Think about how powerful that is – especially for me, in this time of my life. What I want to do with my life – my career – could be whatever I want it to be. That’s the idea today – to go out and get whatever YOU want. But I chose to let God take my career. There could be something at Union that God has a plan for – that doesn’t require as many art classes. I don’t know. By choosing to go to Union, I’m choosing to trust in God. I’m choosing to let Him take my career. And you see, God is beautiful like that. He provides for us.

“Whatever You’re doing, Inside of me, It feels like chaos, but somehow there’s peace.  And though it’s hard to surrender to what I can’t see, I’m giving into something Heavenly.” – Whatever You’re Doing, Sanctus Real

I will say that I am only human – I make mistakes. If I misinterpreted these signs that I have seen, then He will get me back to where I need to be. But my purpose in life is to follow Jesus – wherever He sends me. And for now, that means Union.

For those of you that are interested, there are several reasons why I personally want to transfer to Union. I realize that this post has made it sound like Union is a terrible school, and that it’s painful for me to follow God. It really isn’t. I will truly miss the New River Valley and my friends there, but there are many more opportunities for me at Union – opportunities to reach the lost through domestic missions trips, printmaking classes that aren’t available at Radford (including a historic off-campus printing press, and a vintage table-top letterpress ON CAMPUS!! How cool is that?!), and of course the fact that it is a Christian school, with strong Christian values and leadership. Plus, it’s closer to home, and my darling sister is there. :)

Two days from now, I will be traveling to Jackson, Tennessee, to register for my classes for the fall semester. I would greatly appreciate prayers as I follow God into this new adventure! And, of course, I hope to continue to keep up with what everyone is doing back in Radford. :)

“Where you go, I’ll go.  Where you stay, I’ll stay.  When you move, I’ll move.  I will follow You.  

  Who you love, I’ll love.  How you serve, I’ll serve.  If this life I lose, I will follow You.” –   I Will Follow, Chris Tomlin

With love,
Emily

Experimenting in Film

I love film, particularly art films and shorts. I’ll do a feature post on here one day of a few of my favorites, but for now, I’m going to share with you three short films that I’ve been experimenting with. I hope one day to take some classes in film at college so I can better know how to edit my work.

The first is a film I did exploring the flowering trees in a friend’s yard. How beautiful are these trees? It was absolutely magical walking under them. Set to the music of “Shine” by Rosi Golan.

shine from Emily Traylor on Vimeo.

The second is a very simple exploration of the texture and motion of spinning a bobbin on a sewing machine. Simple pleasures!

262 from Emily Traylor on Vimeo.

Finally, this third film is a summary of our travels from Indianapolis to Tennessee every semester; I started filming clips of our drive down and put them together to the song “Drive All Night” by Needtobreathe.

drive all night from Emily Traylor on Vimeo.

Hopefully, I will have many more films to share in the future. Enjoy!

-Emily

new directions

For a while now, I’ve been reevaluating the direction of my blog.  It’s obvious that I haven’t posted anything to this blog in almost a year, and I think that’s partly because of my being away at college this past year, but also because of my fears of inadequacy.  In the past, I’ve blogged about art and design that I love, but I’ve realized that that can only go so far.  It’s hard to have a blog featuring design when I feel like I’m copying others.

So with that, I’ve been thinking about reworking the direction of this blog.  I want to get back into blogging, but without the pressure of finding unique content.  There are tons of wonderful design-only blogs, and I can’t hope to compete with them.  Instead, I hope to use this blog to write about my adventures in college, art/design, crafting, and food – and, of course, share my relationship with my heavenly father.  For me, there is not just one specific thing that makes me happy – I enjoy it all, and this blog will outline my quest for the design life.

With that, I leave you with pictures of my current project: hexagons done with English paper piecing.  Eventually these will turn into a quilt.

- Emily

Maia Flore

Thanks to Jeff Hendrickson, I discovered the dreamlike work of Maia Flore. Aren’t these beautiful?

Random Inspiration

I want this.

Lisa Congdon’s new shop is just filled with a bunch of wonderful little illustrations, but this one stands out to me. I’ve been addicted to triangles and geometric figures lately, and this beauty just screams “buy me!” But, since I can’t afford it, will someone do me a favor and buy it for themselves?