make happy

Indefinite hiatus

2019-02-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

Attention advertisers:
This blog is on indefinite hiatus. I am not entertaining new post material at this time, nor do I have consistent readers to see new post material. Thank you for your interest, but please do not email me.

Dear new visitors,
Welcome! Grab a cup of coffee and browse the archives, categorized above and on the right side as you scroll down. I still read comments and messages. Personal messages and reader questions are always welcome. 😊 Thank you for visiting! Enjoy!

Update July 18 2018: I have turned off comments, as most of them are spam. Emails are still welcome from anyone other than advertisers. :)

Marisa

Snowflakes

2019-02-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

All images created by Marisa Cieloha. Use of images without permission is prohibited.

skipping rocks on the lewis river

2016-08-17T14:54:00.002-07:00

shibori napkins

2016-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Holy moly, y'all. It has been a year since I posted here last. A year! How was 2015 for you? It was pretty great for me. We went to Italy, we bought a new house, we adopted guinea pigs, the kids grew like weeds. (Still, they insist on the growing. I tell them to stop, but do they listen? No.)

I'd love to say “I'm back!” but I'm not committing to that. I do have a few things I want to share with you—mostly photography nerd and travel stuff—but I don't have plans to return to regular posting. But who knows? Maybe new house projects will make an appearance. We have several in queue...

But for today, shibori! I have wanted to try shibori for the longest time. I'm kind of obsessed with navy blue (or indigo, if I'm staying true to shibori, but as you'll soon see, I'm actually not), and I love the geometric patterns that arise from the tying methods. There are several shibori tutorials around the internet. I'm not attempting a step-by-step tutorial here, though I will include some links below to the tutorials I used. But while I was searching for tying methods, I became frustrated with the lack of clear before-and-after shots showing exactly what pattern each tying method would produce. So that's my purpose here—to show you how my napkins looked tied, before dyeing, and how those same napkins looked opened up, after dyeing.

I used the following tutorials/tying suggestions:

http://honestlywtf.com/diy/shibori-diy/

http://www.aliceandlois.com/indigo-dye-series-shibori-dish-towels/

http://www.aliceandlois.com/diy-pink-shibori-cloth-napkins/

http://www.brit.co/shibori-indigo-dye-kit/

http://www.poppytalk.com/2013/04/diy-hand-dyed-shibori-pillows.html

They were all very helpful! But some of the after pictures were less than clear. So here are my notes:

-I started with 100% cotton napkins (and a tank top). Mine were homemade—my kids prefer the texture and absorbency of napkins made from flour sack towels, and I haven't found any pre-made yet—but you can use anything 100% cotton.

-I bypassed the proper indigo dye and used a box of Rit Denim Blue (double strength) I had on hand.

-I found that the size of my triangle resist (B and C, below) didn't affect the end result.

-I rolled napkin D diagonally and wrapped rubber bands around it at even intervals. It's one of my favorites!

-Napkins E, F, G, and H look remarkably similar, despite very different folding/tying techniques. (All were accordion folded, but some were folded more than others and one had resist blocks.)

-My “resist blocks” were cut up pieces of milk carton. You don't have to use wood! This felt like a huge DIY win.

-I love the patterns made from the clothespins! I wish I had done more like that. Plus—bonus!—I now have a set of navy blue clothespins. Swoon!

Questions? Let me know and I'll update the post as needed.

Oh, and here's a horrible, late night, badly lit phone pic of the tank top I dyed, because I figured someone would ask to see it. This was an old white maternity tank that is great for summer, but had some stains that kept it hanging in my closet, unworn for years. Whenever I dye fabric, I look through my closet and 9 times out of 10, I find some piece of clothing that I just don't wear because of a stain or because it was an impulse buy and it's the wrong color for me. I throw it in the dye bath and voila! A new piece of clothing for free. I probably should take in the sides and hem of this tank to make it look less like a maternity shirt...

january

2015-01-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

I find a good macro session very rejuvenating. It was the perfect way to start the year.

praying mantis

2014-10-18T22:26:00.000-07:00

I led this backyard visitor into a cardboard box for a short photo shoot. He wasn't very happy with me; he kept giving me the evil eye. How can a four-inch-long insect be so intimidating? I set him free and he stalked away into the grass.

punchbowl falls

2014-10-04T08:33:00.003-07:00

Punchbowl Falls, Eagle Creek, Oregon

I've done the Eagle Creek hike before, in spring, when the water was higher. The water was so high that I couldn't get to the spot I needed to photograph this waterfall the way I wanted. Last week, I had a spontaneous invitation to hike this trail again, and I jumped at the chance, knowing the water level would be low enough for me to venture out in the creek bed.

It was almost perfect. I definitely got the composition I was hoping for, but I hope to go back one more time later this month when the leaves have changed color and the sun is a little bit lower. Stay tuned.

little triathletes

2014-09-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

The little dude participated in his first triathlon today. It was a fundraiser for some local schools, and he had a blast. He told me the last few steps to cross the finish line were the best steps of his life. What a great way to describe the rush of adrenaline you get when you push hard to accomplish a goal. My little guy inspired me today. ♥

oregon coast

2014-08-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

Fort Stevens State Park

My family recently took a trip to the Oregon Coast. I've visited this coast probably once a year for all my years, and I still manage to discover new areas and new beauty.

Shipwreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park

I had such a fun time photographing the Peter Iredale at sunset. The way the light passes through the bow of the ship is truly magical. I had a tough time getting the composition I wanted, though, because of all the competition. (See below. And I just noticed another photographer in the far left of the above photo!)

We made lots of fun memories with the kids, and managed to have some adult time, too. It was a fantastic vacation! I can't wait to go back.

Douglas spiraea, Devil's Lake State Park

Bog blueberry? Devil's Lake State Park

complete

2014-07-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Finally, the Scrappy Snail quilt is finished. Only a year in the making—no big deal.

It'll be a nice layer on my bed when the weather cools down. . . if I can get it away from the kids.
They tend to claim possession of any newly finished quilt. Adorable little monsters, they are.

northwest fourth

2014-07-06T20:13:00.001-07:00

balloons make us happy

2014-06-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

I am loving the sunny summer evenings lately. Summer is my least favorite season, but oh, how I missed those summer nights. Everything is warm and glowing with long, dark shadows. Beautiful.

In other news, I'm closing down the MakeHappy Facebook page. There isn't enough activity here (or there) to keep it going, and Facebook is making it harder and harder for “pages” to get views without paying. (How dare they keep us from using those connections for free, right?)

But I'll still be here, once in a while. And on Flickr. Have a great summer!

busy bee

2014-05-16T12:50:00.001-07:00

mt. adams from glenwood

2014-05-16T12:45:00.001-07:00

Ah, rural living. We had to drive an hour for one of the little dude's baseball games.

At least it was a pretty drive.

hey mama

2014-05-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

lilacs

2014-04-29T22:02:00.001-07:00

Ah, lilacs. Lilacs are my favorite. My bush only has a few clusters this year. I think I'm pruning at the wrong time. I need to look that up.

We found these volunteers today. Does anyone know what they are?

It's weird for me to see such a vibrantly colored flower in b&w, but I love the texture of the petals.

only human

2014-03-14T17:52:00.002-07:00

The Flickr Friday prompt this week is “I'm Only Human”. I immediately thought of a close up image of my lips I took in 2012, and all the human imperfections revealed under the magnification of a macro lens. The light at the time was perfect for what I had in mind, so I set about taking a new shot, using all the knowledge I've gained in the last year and a half to improve on the first one. (Don't tell anyone, but the first lip shot was a happy accident. This one was fully intentional.)

I'm pulled in so many directions these days that I don't often feel inspired to take anything other than family record snapshots. It felt good this morning to spend some time working to achieve the shot I imagined. It was like exercising a neglected muscle. If only photography burned more calories. . .

9am

2014-03-11T10:38:00.003-07:00

Hello Barry.

I've been playing along with a project called The Hours. Photographers contribute images taken during a certain hour of the day each month. January was 7-8am, February was 8-9am, March is 9-10am, and so on. These are my 9am images. There are many, many more contributions on The Hours' Flickr page. It's fun to see what is happening between 9am and 10am all around the world.

The nine o'clock hour, on days that I am home, is often quiet and peaceful. The kids are safely at school. Their toys wait for them. Meals are waiting to be prepared, but are wonderfully not being prepared at this hour. And if I'm lucky, the clouds part for some beautiful morning sun to filter through the windows and light up the entire house.

more adventures with the littles

2014-03-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

Mr. Little has enviable patience.

Mrs. Little gets rebellious and takes a walk on the bike path.

coloring

2014-03-03T22:19:00.003-08:00

Hi! Hello! How are you? I'm still here, just not here much. This blog is going through a dormant phase. I'm sad about that, but I'm in a chapter of life where my attention needs to be elsewhere most of the time. I hope to check in more during the summer when my regular life slows down.

For now, I'll leave a picture of my adorable nephew lining up his crayons. ♥

another snowflake

2014-02-06T17:17:00.004-08:00

. . . because we have so many laying around right now, I might as well take advantage.

gratified

2014-02-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

Gloria is happy.

She can't take her eyes off the beautiful snow, even when Selfie Sophie shows up.

snow!

2014-02-04T10:35:00.000-08:00

Finally, snow.

Big, gorgeous snow with visible branches in every tuft.

It's only about an inch, and I doubt we'll get much more.

But for today, I'm happy.

you can't get me!

2014-02-03T20:29:00.002-08:00

You can't get me,

Neener, neener, neeeeener!

We said the strangest things as children.

super bowl sunday

2014-02-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

No big party. No junk food. Just one kid working on her origami valentines, the other making some rubber band bracelets, the Seahawks trampling the Broncos, and a healthy dinner. It was a quiet, pleasant Sunday at our house.