I Like Pretty

Etsy Craft Party 2013 - Seattle Edition

2013-06-12T18:10:00.002-07:00

We are thrilled to be hosting one of the many Etsy Craft Parties to celebrate Etsy's birthday on June 20, 2013. We are partnering with several local crafty groups: EtsyRAIN, Unanimous Craft and School House Craft. Ugly Baby and La Ru, our new shop in the Pike Place Market will be home base. From there, people can use some of the 500 PIECES OF SIDEWALK CHALK to chalk the sidewalk up and down Western Ave. Hot damn!

EtsyRAIN, one of our co-producers, will be setting up a tent where people can decorate tiny chalkboards, write a message on them and then hide them in the downtown area. It's fun to make a little magic appear in people's lives and we think teeny chalkboards will do just that.

Get all the details and RSVP here.

You're super great and I hope you can join us. It'll be super fun and stuff.

I Don't Feel So Good

2013-05-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

I don't.
It's true.
My throat is all swollen and I feel weak and terrible.

It's not being sick and feeling bad that gets me down though. When I'm sick, all I can think about are all the things I need to get done and how much time I'm wasting by not having any energy. You'd think that would inspire me to take better care of myself... but it doesn't.

Basically, I'm an idiot.

I should buy this tonsil print on Etsy to remind me to drink more water and be a good person and stuff. Do you think it would work?

How long, after purchasing this print, do you think it would take me to frame it and hang it up on the wall? I'm guessing 18 months. Anyone care to make a wager?

Pretty Kitties in Portland for Crafty Wonderland

2013-05-08T17:23:00.002-07:00

If Portland wasn't amazing enough as a relaxing, weird destination, we also get to bask in the wonder-ness that is Crafty Wonderland. This Saturday. We'll be slinging Shower Art. We'll be buying socks. We'll be making pancakes in the shape of butts. This weekend. Portland. Prepare yourselves.

Mimi Kirchner's Tattooed Gentleman Make Me Sweat

2013-04-04T23:41:00.004-07:00

Mimi Kirchner's Tattooed Gentlemen make me sweat. Every single time I see them, I fall deeper and deeper in love. One day, I will own one of these fantastic works of art.

Until then, enjoy some photos from her Etsy shop and drool along with me.

Okay, I'm Old.

2012-10-25T18:25:00.001-07:00

We live in a time where graffiti artists can have Etsy shops. The rest of this post should go something like this,

"In my day..."

"Back when I was your age..."

"Something, something, up hill both ways..."

"Something, something, youngster..."

I'm old. I get it. I fell down and broke my ankle instead of popping back up like a string bean wearing a halter top. I get it.

But I didn't realize I was so old that graffiti artists could have Etsy shops. That's new. It's sending me into a mid-life crisis. And not just because Netflix created a category for me called "Mid-Life Crisis Movies." It's more than that.

I have to say - I have a huge crush on starheadboy's work. He has a unicorn combined with a burrito character. That should be all I have to say to win you over.

Here are some pics of my favorite pieces:

Um yeah. raccoon operated robot? Yeah!

These little guys is cutes, cutes, cutes.

This is the one I would like someone to buy for me please. I need some stillness.

Something I desperately want to be able to do.

I just like this guy's little stance. Go get 'em guy!


And a burrito unicorn in found in the wild. Sweet.

In short: I Like. I like.

Opening a Retail Shop in the Historic Pike Place Market

2012-08-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

Lauren Rudeck and I are opening a retail shop slash studio space in the historic Pike Place Market. We anticipate opening mid-late September. Lauren designed our first postcard. Whatcha think?

Wildlife Safari, Giant Bull Erections and Renegade Craft Show

2012-07-18T21:25:00.003-07:00

Tomorrow we embark on an epic adventure. We will drive to San Francisco. Stopping only to pee and for the Wildlife Safari place with the mean ostriches in Winston, OR.

Then, we will seek shelter with Steph from NerdJerk.

On Saturday and Sunday we will be peddling our wares at the San Francisco Renegade Craft Show. It will be epic (but I mentioned that before). It will make you pee your pants (if you didn't stop at a gas station on the way).

Stop by booth 65 and say, "Hi." (or - use whatever greeting you would like - we're no dictators).

And then - you're next LA. Please don't think we've forgotten about you. We haven't. When we're finished with San Francisco, we'll be comin' for you. Driving. Listening to podcasts. Knitting in the car. These are things we will be doing on the way.

Last year, we were stopped by a large bull in the middle of the road. That bull had a large erection. What, oh what, will we encounter while on the road this year? I can't even guess. You can't plan for a bull with a large erection in the middle of the road. Nor, should you try to. I'm content with being surprised.

Come say "hello" LA friends. We will be in booth #16. The Shower Arts will abound there. You will love it. Or you will not. Either way - I'm sure we'll be friends.

Good summer fine people. Good summer.

Urban Craft Uprising: I'm Gonna Do You With a Broken Ankle.

2012-07-06T23:37:00.005-07:00

It's here. The second best day of the year. Urban Craft Uprising's summer show starts this Saturday, July 7th.

It continues July 8th (the second worst day of the year - only because when it's over - the next Urban Craft Uprising show will be as far away as it possibly can be. Sniff).

Come out to the Seattle Center from 11-5 both days and check out all the fantastic urban crafters. This year they are incorporating vintage goods as well. Hot. And if that wasn't enough, there is also an International Beer Festival going on in the Seattle Center at the same time. Two great reasons to travel to Queen Anne. BEER AND CRAFTS!!

Doug and I will be there peddling our Shower Art wares. I'm have a cane. Because I'm 80. And I broke my ankle. Sniff.

I love you.

Butt Themed Art For Your Shower

2012-06-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

My latest Shower Art creation. This one, and many others I've made recently, have a definite butt theme. I think it's because I've been watching Bob's Burgers. You should too.

Shower Art Heads to Brooklyn, NY. Get Effin' Ready.

2012-06-06T11:05:00.002-07:00

My sweets.

If my broken ankle heals in time (translation = by June 20th), Doug and I will both be heading to Brooklyn, NY for Renegade.

If the ankle isn't in good working condition by then, Doug will have to make the trek all alone. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Brooklyn requires a lot of walking. Plus, our awesome friend who offered to let us stay with her lives in a walk up on the fourth floor. That will be almost impossible on crutches. EEeeeeeeeeeeek!

Regardless of who is manning the booth - if you're in Brooklyn on the weekend of 6/23 and 6/24, please stop by and say hello. You'll get to see Shower Art in person - along with 300 other amazing indie crafters. It'll be worth it.

Shower Art Comes to Minnesota

2012-05-06T20:37:00.002-07:00

Suck it Stupid Face

2012-03-28T16:18:00.001-07:00

Suck it Stupid Face, a photo by rosalie_gale on Flickr.

This is how I feel today. You have been warned.

Bang!

2012-03-27T15:55:00.001-07:00

Bang!, a photo by rosalie_gale on Flickr.

New Shower Art. One inch around. BANG!

My Newest Creation: Hot Girls Fart Shoes

2012-03-06T10:13:00.000-08:00

My friend Jessica Obrist and I have created a weird and (we think) wonderful website called Hot Girls Fart Shoes.

We feature videos of hot girls walking around with self inflating whoopee cushions on their feet. They make fart noises. It will probably make you giggle. If it doesn't - you are hard and jaded.

Please enjoy a video of our first live performance at Weird and Awesome with Emmett Montgomery featuring: Betsy Schairer, Alexa Allamano, Sarah Maier, Jennifer Burdette and Danielle Radford.

The Best EVER: Bigfoot in Pasties and Boy Shorts

2012-01-28T17:28:00.000-08:00

While shopping on Etsy for a birthday gift for my dad, I somehow stumbled upon the artwork on ChipmunkCheeks (art and illustration by Katie Vernon). I think I love her.

I did however, choose something else for my father. He will not be getting BigFoot in pasties or boy shorts.

The Fridge: DC

2011-12-31T13:31:00.000-08:00

A long, long time ago, we visited D.C. for the Crafty Bastards show. It rained hard. And it's an outdoor show. And it was my birthday. And I still had a fantastic time. (Crafty Bastards rules that much - for the record).

While we were in town, we stumbled across a cool art gallery in an alley called The Fridge. I took a few pictures of the murals on the building - and on some boarded up buildings leading up to it.

Enjoy:

Shower Art - Holiday Craft Show Schedule 2011

2011-11-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

Doug and I are frantically getting ready for the holiday craft show season that is about to hit. We start getting ready earlier and earlier every year -- and it STILL always takes us by surprise. Sigh.

We have two new products to introduce this year:

T-Shirts! Oh yeah baby. We turned a popular Shower Art piece into a concept for a t-shirt with the help of Barry Blankenship.

Soap Dishes! We got tired of people always asking, "So this is Shower Art? But what do you DO with it?" Ummmmmm.... NOTHING. You just look at it. Like you do with other art. (I have a bad attitude - that's why Doug does most of the customer service). Now you can have Shower Art in the shape of a functional soap dish. Yes, yes you can.

This year we are participating in three shows:

EtsyRAIN Handmade Holiday Show - Seattle, WA

Saturday, November 26th and Sunday, November 27th
11:00 - 5:00 both days

Location:
Intiman Theatre
201 Mercer Street
Seattle, WA 98109

Be one of the first 50 people in line each day and receive a swag bag filled with crafty goodness.

Urban Craft Uprising - Seattle, WA

Saturday, December 3rd and Sunday December 4th
11:00 - 5:00 both days

Location:
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
305 Harrison Street
Seattle,WA 98109
(the entrance is on Mercer Street)

Be one of the first 100 people in line each day and receive a swag bag filled with crafty goodness. If you want one, plan to get there between 9:00 and 10:00 to wait in line. There's always a line around the block to get these.

One of a Kind Show and Sale - Vancouver, Canada

Thursday, 12/8 - 10:00 - 9:00
Friday, 12/9 - 10:00 - 9:00
Saturday, 12/10 - 10:00 - 9:00
Sunday, 12/11 - 10:00 - 5:00

Location:
Vancouver Convention Centre West
1055 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC, V6C 0C3

Tickets:
Adults $12.00
Seniors (65+) $6.50
Students (13-17) $6.50
Children (12 and under) Free

If you are around for any of these shows, come on over and say, "Hey!" If you can't make it to any of our events but still want to buy some Shower Art for your friends and family, email me to arrange a private peek in our studio inventory. We'll drink coffee and dig through bins. It'll be awesome.

In closing: We love you.

Art I like: Jesse Link

2011-10-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

I saw Jesse Link's art for the first time this year at Bumbershoot. I remember just stopping and staring. I stumbled across his work again in Cafe Vita on Capitol Hill. I took a few pictures because I really wanted to share the magic. Enjoy.

My photographs don't really do the work justice. If you want to see more, you can read Jesse's blog or visit his Picasa album.

Good evening.

The Goodest Stuff at Goodwill

2011-08-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Other People of Earth,

You can officially stop looking for the best stuff on the planet. I have it all. These two statues/book ends complete my collection. Yes, one is of a little boy playing the flute. And yes, the other one is of a really annoyed girl holding her hands over her ears.

My husband and I share a desk so I put the boy one on his side and the girl one on my side. Now he has a visual reminder of what I think of his musical abilities. Perfect.

He's playing beautiful music. In theory.

She hates it.

They are signed by E. Vilianis and stamped with ESCO Product.

Jealous?
I thought so.

619 Western Documentary Funding Project

2011-08-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

Seattle artists who rent studios in the 619 Western building were surprised when their move out date (required by the city for the viaduct replacement project) was moved UP from March 2012 to October 2011. It seems a shabby ending for a building that has housed so much creativity and given the citizens of Seattle so much pleasure.

The building, once labeled for tear-down, will now be retro-fitted instead. Even if it goes well, I forsee crappy "improvements" that suck all the life out of 619. And - even if I'm wrong about that - I'm pretty sure those rents will be going up.

I, for one, am sad to see this part of Seattle history leave our fair city without even a proper, "So long." I stumbled across this fundraising campaign to raise money to film a documentary about the building so that the spirit can live on a bit. I'm donating. For sure. You should too.

Mad Homes - A Virtual Tour of Something Awesome

2011-07-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we tried to get out of helping a friend move by going to an art show called Mad Homes. Little did we know that her old apartment was right next to the installation. We had to hide in some bushes while she finished loading up her truck and drove away. It was worth it.

Mad Homes is an art installation by Mad Art. They have taken over several houses in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and allowed artists to create installations. The houses are being torn down for condos anyway - so why not, right? It's a magical idea.

Artists include: Troy Gua, Julia Haack, Meg Hartwig, Luke Haynes, Amanda Manitach, Ryan Molenkamp, Allan Packer, Jason Puccinelli in collaboration with Elizabeth Potter, Sutton Beres Culler, Laura Ward, & Allyce Wood.

Mad Homes is located on 711 Bellevue Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98102

July 16 - August 7, 2011
Open 12 - 7 P.M. Daily

Below are some images from my visit:

This Weekend: The Second Best Weekend of the Year

2011-07-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the Urban Craft Uprising summer show. It is second in wonderfulness only to the Urban Craft Uprising winter show. Literally: my two favorite weekends of the entire year.

If you're looking for awesome, crafty and innovative gifts for yourself or those you love - you need to go to Urban Craft Uprising.

Am I overselling it? Have I mentioned how much I love Urban Craft Uprising?

No?

Really?
Are you sure?

Because I pretty much think that I did.

Get there early - FREE SWAG BAGS FOR EARLY BIRDS!

Hot Tip: Get in line about an hour before it opens in order to get a chance at one.

We'll be there selling Shower Arts. Mmmmmmm... waterproof art for your shower.

Two Trips to the Sculpture Park, Ahhhhhhh

2011-06-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

I made two trips to the Olympic Sculpture Park in the course of a single week. It was lovely. The first visit, with my awesome husband and our jam makin' second wife focused on the stunning water view.

Yes, those are mountains.

And this is Betsy. She makes jam and is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She recently ran her first 1/2 marathon.

Here she is staring at the lovely view.

My second trip to the sculpture park was with my lovely friend and ex-stand up comedian, Stacia.

She spent the last six weeks in Peru and stopped in to our place for a visit before she moved to Oregon. I haven't seen her for about three years and it was so much fun. I forgot just how much I missed her company. Sniff.

Stacia and I walked around some of the actual sculptures in the park instead of just taking in the view (it was a bit cloudy while we were out and about). I like these big, rusted things. It's cool to walk inbetween these big structures. And I like the fact that their natural reaction to being outside - rusting - is an integral part of the art.

Here's some mini peoples walking around amidst the giant rust things.

And finally. I'm not sure where I saw this scrawled into the sidewalk - but I thought it was a good reminder so I stopped to take a picture.

And if you DO lose your soul - be sure you get something good in exchange like: ice cream, pizza, cheese, 1000 kittens and/or a vat of mashed potatoes.

Do you think it says something about me that 4 out of five items in that list are food.

Yes, I think it does. Snicker.

Garage Sale Find: Fake Rhinestone Fruit

2011-05-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

Recently I found out that the Greenwood neighborhood was having a huge garage sale day with over 100 sales taking place from 9am to 3pm. I convinced my husband and three other hilarious men that it would be fun to spend the day walking around and looking at other people's garbage. It didn't take nearly as much convincing as I thought it would.

My purchase was made at the first sale we visited. A bowl of fake fruit caught my eye. Each piece was painstakingly covered with rhinestones. I just glanced at it longingly - assuming it would be way out of my price range - but it turned out to just be $6.50 for the whole set of at least 10-12 different pieces.

EtsyRAIN - Saturday, May 7th - Seattle, WA

2011-05-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

This coming Saturday is the next installment of the EtsyRAIN craft shows. We'll be at INTIMAN Theatre in the Seattle Center from 11am-5pm on Saturday (your last chance to buy a Mother's Day present!).

The first 50 people in line will get a bag stuffed with free samples of the awesome craftey-ness that you'll find inside.

Check out a photo of the Swag Bag line-up. Oh yeah!

And if that's not enough to grab you -- Doug and I will be selling Shower Arts. YAY!

The perfect gift for hella cool moms.