Quick Alter-Art Update

Just a quick note to say that my very first full size quilt is complete! It was a real adventure to do all of it - and especially the quilting. It wouldn't have been possible without some great instructions from my extremely talented mom. And she even answered the phone when I called for the 50th time in an hour - I was getting nervous for the quilting part. Thanks, Mom!

The whole enchilada...

And a couple details of the quilting. I used a simple free-form wave pattern - a great choice for my first try at quilting...

Now, just in case you want your very own amazing quilt, here's your chance. My fantastically talented mom made a stunning quilt that is being raffled off this year to support the Piecing Partners Quilt Guild, including their charity work with the Department of Human Services.

Here's a look at the quilt. It's actually quite big - 94"x93" - and it's called Domestic Drama. I've held this one in my own hands, and photos cannot do it justice, but here goes anyhow...

For just $1 a ticket, you can be entered to win it! So, if you want a few raffle tickets (I recommend it!), please just shoot me an email and I can put you in touch with the right folks.

Thanks!

Thinking of spring

We had an epic powder day yesterday. It included

• fresh tracks
• 12+ inches of new snow
• sunshine
• many face-shots
• maximizing the awesome-ness of my new (extremely fat) skis
• general celebration of snow and winter 

Nevertheless, today I find myself daydreaming of summer mountain trails.

And thinking of summer is inspiring buckles with fewer ski maps and more color. Even though this has some autumn leaves, it also has the bright colors of summer!

Back to daydreaming now...

Or putting more wood in the stove.

Guest post at elle.mnop!

The fantastic Elle over at elle.mnop is featuring a guest post by me today! Thanks so much to Elle for keeping up with my blog and asking me to contribute to hers. I love her sense of style, the great DIY projects she posts, and the fun things she finds around her neighborhood and online.

Since things have been crazy at the Moon house, I decided I better write a post to remind me (and maybe you) to take a deep breadth and relax once in awhile. With, of course, a few suggestions...

 So, head on over there to read my guest post and check out Elle's two-thumbs-up blog!

A cornicopia of fantastic (free!) fonts

As business continues to grow at Wild Bear Buckles, I'm spending more time considering branding and a proper logo. In my quest for great design ideas, two different friends have mentioned one website -- dafont.com. It took me a bit to get around to look at it, but let me tell you - it rocks! I hope I'm not giving away some fantastic trade secret of text designers, but this website is worth exploring for anyone who likes

• design
• text
• being creative
• writing words on the computer

I'm assuming that pretty much means all of you.

So, here is the deal with dafont.com. You hop on the site and you can browse literally hundreds of font designs. You can even type in your text and preview how it will look. When you find something you like, just download it and follow the (very simple!) instructions to add it to your computer's fonts. Just make sure you take note if the font is "free" or "free for personal use", so you know how you can use it.

Check it out...

Wild Bear Buckles goes on a Caribbean vacation...

...dresses up as Frankenstein and sings Thriller...

...gets cultured at the avant garde movie theatre...

...does time...

...attends a night at the opera...

...and gets in touch with its Montana roots...

And that's only the beginning. Now go find your own crazy, fun, funky, modern, vintage text for your latest crafty idea. (Warning: may cause sleep loss.)

Thanks for the dance!

Clearly all of you had a great time getting your groove on for a snow dance, because it worked. Thank you!

I just got back from our backcountry yurt trip over in the Tobacco Root mountains - 4 days of great snow, fantastic company, and some good ol' time in the wilderness. Thanks to the Montana Backcountry Adventures folks for keeping this yurt up and running!  Here's the tour...

First off, home base yurt. Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to the backcountry yurt without some wood chopping. And a dog to gnaw on all the wood chips....

You already know of my love for wood stoves, so I can't help but show off this beauty that lives at the yurt. She's even got the side car that you can fill up with snow to make warm water for dish washing. I imagine that if you were a real pioneer woman, this handy contraption would be a high priority on your pioneer husband's to do list.

The real point of the yurt ski trip, though, is the ski part, so there was lots of that too. Hard work going up...

pays off with lots of fantastic turns, almost captured on film!

And along to keep us entertained, was our trusty powder hound. Here he is scouting his fresh line. I can tell you that he does a lot of straight-lining and is always getting face shots. He's a real snow junky like that.

What an adventure!

Also, since this blog of course includes belt buckle talk, I'd just like to warn you. When you return to the truck after a long ski out from a yurt, and the temperature last night was well below zero, and the current temperature is probably not too far above zero, and you are pulling your change of clothes out of the truck and putting them on, you should probably tuck in your shirt. Because that belt buckle is cold!

The belt buckle to match this snowy trip? Or course, ...

Now, back to work!

Why Buckles?

Buckles, huh? When there are so many great things to make out there, why choose buckles? Well...

I've always loved to make things by hand. Several years ago I thought what better way to try my hand at a handmade business (sorry, couldn't help that one) than jewelry, right? So I made jewelry...

Jewelry for my sister-in-law's wedding...

Jewelry to sell at the summer market...

And making jewelry was good, and I liked it and as best I can tell other people liked it to. But here is the thing - I don't actually wear jewelry. Well, I do, but only the same jewelry every single days for years. Here's the run down...

The blue lapis ring goes on my right hand and was given to me about 10 years ago by my high school (and still) best friend. She made it in a college class.
The other set of rings are pretty obvious - my simple engagement ring and the single wedding band Mr. Moon surprised me with at our wedding. These go in the usual spot.

 

Then there's the necklace Mr. Moon gave me about 6 years ago. It was the first sign of true love and the only time I'm not wearing it is when the leather string breaks.

And the three "sleeper" earrings - 2 in the left ear, one in the right. I think I can safety say I've been wearing these for more than 15 years.

 

And, of course, the nose ring. I got this on my 18th birthday at "Mom's Body Shop" in San Francisco, and nothing has changed since.

 So, as you can see, I have a wonderful, but very, very stagnant, relationship with a few particular pieces of jewelry, and it really ends there. (Unless it's a really fancy wedding, but that doesn't happen too often around these parts.)

And here is the other problem. I'm not really a girly-girl. I don't wear make-up, I don't own hair products, and I'd rather climb a peak than go to the mall. Also, I don't really wear dresses. My power suit? It's pants and a jacket. So where does that leave me? Belt Buckles!! I could wear the heck out of belt buckles!

Belt buckles are...

• practical (needed to keep my belt on to keep my pants on)
• have personality - of all sorts
• do not get in the way when I have to lug some wood into the house

Belt buckles with salmon shirts...

Belt buckles with brown shirts...

Belt buckles with jeans and black...

So when I'm making belt buckles, that means that I can make a million things that I want to wear. And that is a good time!

Sunsets: Nature-made and Handmade

After sharing the stunningly beautiful morning we had last week, I can't help but share the orange/pink/salmon/corral/yellow/red evening that we had just a couple of days ago, too. This photo is totally unedited - exactly how it came out of my camera. Nature makes the most amazing art!

Sure is hard to match. But, since I like all things handmade too, I thought I should add the best competition I've sound so far...this "wowza, amazing!" quilt by quilt artist Grace Errea (of course, the image is from her website, too - please go visit).

 

I think this one really speaks for itself, or at least it better because it just makes my mouth drop open in awe.

How's that for inspiration?!

Believe me, when I can put that sunset in a buckle, you all will be the first to know!

Big Sky, Blue Sky, Belt Buckles!

Living in Big Sky is often like living in a beautiful paradise. I have to pinch myself and remember that these gorgeous mountains and awe-inspiring landscapes really are my backyard! And, of course, during ski season town is abuzz with skiers and tourists who have come to enjoy our champagne powder and blue skies. Not to mention that there's never a line at the ski lift.

To celebrate Big Sky and ski season, I'm sharing a photo I took just the other day - while running an errand!  Paradise...

Blue skies and perfect powder runs do tend to inspire a few buckles, too. Lately, I've been making a whole variety of ski map buckles and I also love this recent Snow buckle...

As always, if you see a buckle here that you'd like to get or something similar, just let me know and I can probably post it on Etsy for you.

And if you haven't ever been to Big Sky - or Montana - I would highly recommend a visit. Once we arrived, we were hooked!

All the best from Wild Bear Buckles in the great Big Sky!

Crafting: Finding ideas for inspiration!

Some days I could spend hours making buckles and never stop to take a breath, but other days I just sit and stare at the piles on my desk. What's the difference? Inspiration! 

Here are some of my favorite ways to get inspired and things that I find inspiring...

- I'm a frugal person (that's the nice way to say it  :)  ), so I always keep old greetings cards and fun scraps of paper around - you just never know when they'll be perfect for a project.  So take a look through your piles of saved scraps.

- When my husband and I want to think about adventure, the first thing we do is pull out maps. We have piles of them. So why not create fun items from the maps I love to look at. What do you love to browse through? How can you use that item in a project?
The beginning of a new buckle...

- Around town I keep my eyes open for things I like and that are eye-catching. All the beautiful colors at the paint store - put them to use!

- Borrow from one craft to give to another! Besides making buckles I also love to sew. Turns out there are a million fun fabrics with great designs. Why not borrow from my sewing stash for my other favorite craft? Blanket or buckle...

And, finally, there's always inspiration to be found online...

• Browse the amazing crafts and great photos at craftgawker.com
• Look at the beautiful treasuries on etsy.com
• Find a few blogs that have a great aesthetic. My choice today is elle.mnop - a pleasingly simple website with beautiful photos, fun ideas, and a mishmash that's fun to explore.

What items inspire you?