Oh the Cuteness!

Adding color to the bedroom.

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

Dennis and I have been slowly but surely adding goodies to the house to make it more cozy and warm, but our tiny little bedroom was feeling a bit boring as of late so I decided to add some colorful touches. While we were in Portland a friend of mine told me to check out Bolt, a charming little fabric boutique she used to work at. So for one of the days Dennis and I separated and while he went to a game shop to play cards with his brother I went off in search of Bolt. The neighborhood it was in was absolutely amazing, and if we ever decide to move to Portland we are living. Right. There. Unfortunately I have no pictures, but all along Alberta Street there was one crafty shop after another. A yarn shop named Close Knit right nextdoor to Bolt, then a music store that had a wall of ukuleles and even a banjolele (WANT!), a co-op market, a little art store called Collage that had everything I love, an open sewing studio/machine shop called Modern Domestic, a place called Make House that had silk screening classes and such, the list goes on, all in a span of three blocks. Anywho, long story short it was magical and I had just enough fun money to get a couple treasures, including a couple yards of this amazing cotton voile:

I saw it and instantly fell in love with the plaid, and then I touched it and it was so silky-soft I knew it was what I needed to make pillowcases so I snagged a couple yards. I was in a boutique in Berkeley when I got the idea to make some, because they had some nice ones from India that I loved but they were a whopping $36 a piece! Sheesh. I think I ranted about pillow prices in this post, and I feel the same way about pillowcases. Seriously people, it took a yard of fabric and 10 minutes of sewing to make two pillowcases! I just used an existing case as a template, measured a 19 x 58 inch rectangle (which is from selvage to selvage), folded it in half, sewed up the sides and zig-zag stitched over the cut edges to keep them from fraying, and just left the soft selvage as the edging. I'm extremely happy with them!

So cozy, and they add so much warmth to the room. I'll show off a picture of the whole room once it's completely done, but I still have some more to do.
Also a couple weeks ago I found this on Pinterest and I knew I had to do a version of it in our room since I had a bunch of photos that didn't fit into some recent scrapbook pages and we had a huge blank wall above the bed. A few tack nails, some baker's twine, and two packages of tiny red clothespins later and voila!

Even Dennis had to admit this was pretty awesome. It's so nice having our favorite pictures up, and we can change them very easily as we get new ones. And thanks to my dad I have a fancy new camera lens to use this year (which is what I used to take these pictures). It's a 50mm with a 1.8 f-stop. Yummy depth of field, and I've been taking more pictures than ever now! Thanks Dad!

The Last A Fair to Remember Recap

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

The last A Fair to Remember was very fun. I only brought owl pincushions and my new owl plushies to the table, and I felt very prepared and happy. I had a great time hanging out with Errol and meeting the other vendors, but a Giants game that started in the afternoon on that day really cut down on our foot traffic and affected sales. Oh well, what can you do?

Great hipstery band.

Owls looking longingly for a new owner.

Errol in his lucky sale flannel.

I remember making these as a kid and I loved that she was selling them.

The bar nextdoor had Errol at hello.

He suddenly realized that this is a serious matter.

Until next spring...

Makin' Jam.

2012-01-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah...

Fresh wild bird cherries in three colors (I guarantee you have these dwarf plum trees in your neighborhood) given to me by a dear friend, cooked down, strained, sugar added, cooked to soft ball stage, and canned properly. So much jam, so delicious. Everyone I know got a jar and we still have 2 left. Life is good.

New year, new outlook, new stuff.

2012-01-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

Hi all!
The shop was updated a few days ago with some more owl pincushions and just a couple of hipster ones, some jewelry, soap, etc., and since it's the new year and I always try to do a purge of unnecessary items from the house, there's a ton of random supplies in there too, all new and all very inexpensive! Hope you find something you like!

It's all about the results.

2012-01-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

Recently I've gone through quite a few changes job-wise and I realized the other day that I haven't even shared what's been going on with me, and what has been causing some of my absence on here. Where should I start...

Well, I finally couldn't hack my commute out to the toy store in San Francisco anymore, and Dennis and I wanted to go to Portland for Christmas this year, which my boss would never have let me do. So the winds of change came blowing my way and I gave my notice after I got a part-time gig at a scrapbooking store in Berkeley and a couple ongoing freelance gigs. This was at the end of September, and all was well until a couple months later when I was spectacularly laid off from my really fun position at the scrapbooking store. But the funny thing is, I wasn't really all that broken up about it. Granted, I honestly enjoyed the job and it was a source of endless inspiration; I learned a lot of new techniques and had fun starting to make a scrapbook. But the pay was pretty low, and I found myself wanting to cut my hours back and pick up more freelance gigs and focus more on my own stuff. (Not to mention it was very tempting to spend all my money on their wonderful products.)

I had quit the toystore in hopes of working part time for someone and spending the bulk of my time crafting for myself, but I ended up working a full-time schedule between everything. Now after being laid off I feel like the universe is trying to tell me something and I better listen. So instead of moping about or starting a job hunt, I worked extra hard on my displays and products for the RAC craft fair I sold at on the 1st and 2nd of December. And the result was more amazing than I ever could have dreamed...

This year I shared a booth with my friend Suzanne from my S&B group, and Errol of Metaphor Organic (I did the photography for their new website!), whom I met at A Fair to Remember. Oh! That reminds me I never posted pictures from the very last one. Next time... Anywho...

Suzanne, of course, made gorgeous knitwear. I couldn't resist trading for a pair of sparkly pink, purple, and black fingerless gloves. Very Madonna. She is the undisputed goddess of knitting in our little group.

In addition to the must-have owl pincushions and the new owl plushies I made some great crocheted wrap bracelets which were quite popular, a couple little mushroom and bird ornaments, and the real stars of the show, my fascinators and feather hair clips...

These babies were just flying off my table! I made more money at this fair than I have ever made before, and I feel like I've found a new niche. For the first time the dream of paying rent and bills from things I've made myself seemed like more than just a dream. So for now I'm freelancing and making stuff, and not being a wage slave to the man! Wish me luck... Gulp... Anywho...

A few years ago I found I had amassed quite an odd collection of craft supplies that were best suited to 3D collage or shrines, but when I started combining them with beautiful feathers and putting them on headbands they became these super fun and quirky accessories. I made 4 all that time ago, and I ended up giving 3 away, as people would come over and try them on and fall in love, and keeping one for myself. I wear it all the time still, as it looks great for getting fancy and when you just want to dress up jeans and a tee. And I think that's what people like about them. Honestly, even after people liked the first round I was a little apprehensive as to whether or not these would sell. I was afraid people just wouldn't get it, but boy was I wrong. I took these pictures right before the fair started and I had no time to take anymore! I made about 12 or 14 ranging in price from 15-40 dollars, most being about 30-35. The first day of the fair, which was only a half day, I had sold more than half, so I stayed up really late that night making 6 more which I sadly didn't get to photograph - they sold too fast!

Each of the headbands are one of a kind and use a combination of vintage and new millinery, trinkets, and metal bits. The batch I made for the second day were all very steampunk and I'm so sad I have no pictures to show. The first one above I called the Christmas Goose, and it was very theatrical with curly goose feathers for the base and two mid-size white feathers sticking out to one side on the top, laser-cut wooden leaves, and a little moss bird's nest. The second one was called the Winter Woodland and was made from 100% vintage goodies (except the headband), the star of which is that beautiful brass bow. I've seen these big ones done on clips before but I prefer the headbands because for one, no matter how long your hair is you can rock it, for two it's super easy to throw on and wears almost like a hat, and for three they are super comfy. I'm picky about my headbands and these kind are the best - very flexible, large, and they have a bit of padding on the ends.

The first one here was my favorite, and I was secretly hoping it wouldn't sell so I could keep it and of course it was the one that sold first! I called it the Pheasant Hunt because of the base feathers, and the orange ones are vintage, and the berries as well. I found the pinecones at my parents house, and the amazing little coque feathers sticking off the top looked like antennae and made me so happy! I topped it off with a solid brass stereo knob. The second one is called Fruits of the New Year and had a vintage German feather pad, faux fruits, and velvet leaves.

The first one here was called the Happy Holiday and was the most Christmas-y by far. All vintage/found objects on this one, with a real pinecone. And lastly, the Steampunk Debutante, which I think speaks for itself!

I also made a ton of clips (And I made the cool magnet board and headband holder covered with blue Dupioni silk, so fancy!), using vintage trinkets, bowties, and feathers. I called them "Whimsical Holiday Finery" for the Christmas fair, but I have recently restocked my supplies to make a whole new batch and needed a name. When people ask me to describe these I always find myself using the word "theatrical", so I'm calling them "Whimsical Theatrical Finery", which does double duty in its shortened form, WTF. As in, "WTF is on your head!?" Perfecto. I will do a post when I have the new batch ready to go into the shop!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-10T17:30:00.000-08:00

... And we're back on track! We got back from Portland the day before New Year's Eve and my sister came into town about an hour behind us so I got to spend the New Year with her! We went to a party thrown by my friends Vanessa and Glen. Good times: a balloon drop, party poppers, good food and champagne, and pretty people! But sissy made it extra special for me by doing my hair and makeup. For anyone who knows me this is a big deal! Fake eyelashes even, which took some getting used to but were really fun, and I felt very pretty.

It was a great start to what is sure to be a very interesting year, but more on that later. Cheers everyone!

Merry Christmas... Getting closer!

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Christmas up in Portland, yet somehow I managed not to take a single picture. It was a big vacation in every way, as we spent the entire week mostly sleeping and eating. That's sure to come up in my new year's resolution, but that's another post for another day. We had some mini-Christmases at home before we left, and I got to visit my parents the week before. I made cards this year with scraps and off-cuts, but I only made 25 and it turns out I have a ton of friends and family all of a sudden...

I sent out a total of 53 cards!

I wore the ugly Christmas sweater I won at last year's white elephant gift exchange while we decorated the tree. We had hot coco and listened to a 5-record set of music that I used to have on tape from my childhood.

We did the tree using all of my glass ball ornaments with a vintage wooden peppermint garland and red and white lights.

Mom made us stockings out of that fantastic retro fabric and I finally have a mantle to put my light-up village on! It has a skate pond that you can wind up that plays music and has two little skaters that move around on it.

Gratuitous cuteness coming on...

And bonus! I forced Dennis to wear a Santa hat and from then on it was all snotty faces to the camera. Oh how I love him!

Happy Thanksgiving... Better late than never!

2012-01-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

Finally my whirlwind holiday season is over! I am so backlogged with blogs it's kind of ridiculous... I guess I'll just start with Thanksgiving and try to work my way back from there, with a couple detours. This year we had our usual "orphan's feast" where we get all our friends who aren't able to visit family together and pig out. It was lovey, and there were 11 of us in total which was the largest yet!

I made little place cards for everyone, total cost was $5.00 for the supplies!

Had to rearrange the living room to fit in all the borrowed tables and chairs!

I used our plates and some Bambu plates, mismatched water and wine glasses, and mismatched colorful napkins tied with ribbon scraps. Candles in vintage milk glass and mercury glass holders formed the centerpiece. Dennis and I made the turkey, sweet potatoes (fresh, not canned), roasted squash, and butternut squash pie, and everyone else brought tons of delicious goodies to share.

As is tradition, we played Zombies!, my favorite board game. As well as the game where you stick a name on your forehead and try to guess who you are. Does anyone know the name of that game? And of course we had to play with the hamster that belongs to our house guest, she's just too sweet! (These pictures were taken by my fabulous friend Alex.)

Also, just a little new year's update: I hope you all like the new blog design!

Shop update!

2011-12-04T20:05:00.001-08:00

Just in time for Christmas, I've put a bunch of owl pincushions, new large owl plushies, moustache straws, and mini notebooks in the shop! I can guarantee that stuff will arrive for Christmas (within the continental US) if it is purchased before or on Friday, December 16th, but I will continue shipping orders until December 20th. I have a bunch of owls that need photographing too, so if you are looking for a specific color I don't have listed feel free to convo me on etsy and I can see if I have one hiding in the studio!

It's Craft Fair Time!

2011-11-30T10:06:00.001-08:00

Yes, friends, it's that time of year again. I will be selling at the RAC's Holiday Arts Festival. I've done this fair the past two years and have had such a wonderful time, and even though my usual partners in crime weren't able to share the booth with me this year I have found a couple friends to take their place. Errol of Metaphor Organic (Check out their new website, I did the photography!) will be there selling his delightful soaps, and my good friend Suzanne will be selling her beautiful hand-knit scarves, hats, and gloves. Come support local artists and have a great time! If you mention you are a reader, as always, you will get 25% off any of my items!

Black Friday Sale!

2011-11-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

First of all, Happy Turkey Day to all my readers out there in blogland! In honor of our strange shopping tradition of "Back Friday" I am having a free shipping sale for all my readers, now through Monday night (as Monday has become "Cyber Monday", the online cousin of "Black Friday"). To get free shipping in my etsy shop just enter the coupon code blackbird when prompted in the checkout process. Happy shopping!

How-Tuesday #32!

2011-11-08T12:56:00.000-08:00

Happy How-Tuesday everyone! This week I have a funny chili recipe, shrinky dink buttons, and a magic trick!

I stumbled upon this hilarious comic that actually teaches you a yummy chili recipe too! Check it out here.

These buttons are adorable and I cannot wait to add some to an old shirt that is missing one! Here is the tutorial.

And just for the heck of it, here is a simple card trick to impress your friends! Learn it here.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a great party on Saturday night and I decked out the entire house in horrific decorations. Click on the pictures for a larger view. Firstly, the living room:

Mom gave me these cute little vintage-style pipe cleaner cat ornaments and I used some bits left over from my big round of cake bunting making to turn them into a little garland. Recycled wallpaper, orange polka dot scraps, and orange and white baker's twine was all it took to make my favorite new decoration!

Black and plain cheesecloth, construction paper bats from years past, and a host of store-bought decorations I've been collecting since I was a kid covered the rest of the room. For the party we turned off all the lights and everything was lit with candles, black lights, and glow sticks. The majority of the Halloween decorations I have stored are candle holders and there are SO many candles around the room but you can't really tell.

The curtain is made from black plastic trash bags. I got the idea from an old issue of Martha Stewart Living.

The bathroom was lit only by a red light and completely covered in spiders and blood. There was a big web with a giant spider over the shower door.

The bedroom was lightly decorated with old Wolfie here, reading the latest book from my favorite local writer, Will Viharo. This guy spooked people pretty well as the bedroom was the coat room and the first stop before people's eyes really got adjusted to the dim lighting haha!

And here's the kitchen! I switched out the dining table for a long one and all the paper lanterns had green glow sticks in them for the party.

More candles everywhere and the infamous Kitty Litter Cake! When some of the guests arrived early they thought I wasn't done cleaning! Why would I clean the catbox on the kitchen counter? Gross!

Relax! Though it looks very unsanitary, it is actually quite delicious.

To make it you need a brand new, clean litter pan and pooper scooper (for serving), 1 box of spice cake mix, 1 box of yellow cake mix, 1 package of vanilla sandwich cookies, 1 large box of vanilla pudding, green food coloring, and tootsie rolls.

Make the pudding and let it chill, then mix the cakes according to the directions on the box. Bake each kind in a 13x9 rimmed cookie pan until done, about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. When they're cooled lift one out of the pan and place it in the cat box, trimming it to fit. Then spread the pudding over the whole thing and add the second layer of cake. Crush up the whole package of cookies in a food processor or by sandwiching in saran wrap and smashing with a mallet. Grab a small handful and add a couple drops of green food coloring and smash it up so they turn green, set aside. Sprinkle the plain cookie crumbs all over the top of the cake in an even layer, then sprinkle with the reserved green ones so it looks like the little blue bits in litter. Lastly, unwrap the tootsie rolls and microwave them fro 10 seconds to make them a little easier to mold, then shape them into, well, poo, and place them on top. Enjoy!

And here we have Swedish Eyeballs, Jenn's vegetarian version, and the Meathead. This ties with the Kitty Litter Cake for favorite freaky party food.

The effect is even better after he's been eaten a bit, not to mention having it sitting in the fridge covered in plastic wrap beforehand. Here's the old tutorial for it.

Heideh made this amazing plate of Pumpkin Puke! So delicious and a great presentation!

But what really made the party great was having all our friends over to eat, drink, and play silly old-fashioned games:

Yes, that's me in the beard... and Dennis in the other beard lol. Ten coolness points to everyone who knows who we are (answers at the bottom lol)!

These pics are all of us playing Spiderweb. It's an old Italian game and it would take too long to explain! Jenn won! (And yes, I had prizes ready for all the winners of the games.)

And here's the whole gang, from left to right, row by row: The Dude (or Duder, El Duderino, etc), a stranded Australian tourist, Aphrodite, a personal trainer, Moose Man, Mr. Tapatio, Walter (Shut the f*** up Donnie!), a magpie, a nun, a soccer ref, a goth fairy, Past Jenn, a Sear's employee, and... Rob, aka the Muffin Man. Unfortunately Miss Frizzle had to skeedadle a little early, but her costume was spot-on!

Tonight Dennis and I are going to carve pumpkins and stay in to watch scary movies and give out candy. I have no idea how many trick-or-treaters there will be here since we are still so new to the neighborhood, but my mom gave me some goodie bags that I filled with Halloween pencils, plastic bugs, eye patches, and a bunch of candy. I was able to make 15, and if we get more kids I have extra loose candy too. Hope everyone is going to have a Happy Halloween!

(Also, How-Tuesday will be back next week, I'm busy these days and have not had time to find any new links!)

How-Tuesday #31!

2011-10-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

Happy How-Tuesday! This week I have some great little candles, stenciling, and a beautiful cake.

These little bottle cap candles are amazing! I'm dedicating this link to my buddy Krissy who is having a beer garden-themed wedding soon! Here is the tutorial.

This is a nice freezer paper stencil tutorial that goes more into how to cut a very fine stencil. Check out the tutorial here.

This cake is beautiful all on its own, and the recipe sounds amazing, but the website is covered with beautiful photography too. Check it out here.

The Final Fair to Remember!

2011-10-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Just a little reminder that I will be selling again this month at A Fair to Remember in San Francisco. If some of you have not had a chance to come out and see all the wonderful goodies yet then you best come out for this one as it is the last of the season! There is talk of a possible Christmas version in December but it is not set in stone yet. Also I have some thing top-secret and super duper special that I will be selling at this fair (it has to do with my owl pincushions), so come and see! Also I will give you 25% off if you mention that you are a blog reader!

How-Tuesday #30!

2011-10-11T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! It is How-Tuesday again! This week I have found for you a necklace tutorial, laundry detergent powder, and a recipe for Coca-Cola cupcakes!

I have a necklace just like this in yellow with faux pearls instead of marbles and I paid like 40 bucks for it! Should have found this sooner... Here is the tutorial.

I love making cleaners and such at home, and this powdered laundry soap looks much easier to make than the liquid version. Here is the recipe/tutorial.

These cupcakes look amazing, and they are made with Coke to give the chocolate cake a richer flavor, and whipped cream frosting. I think I would like to try them with whipped marshmallow frosting some time. Check out the recipe here.

Fun in the Kitchen.

2011-10-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

So now that you have seen my awesome kitchen I can show off some of the stuff I have made in it! I have been baking a lot of pies lately as I tend to do every time the seasons start changing form summer to fall. I had to take a picture of this bad boy because it turned out so pretty and so delicious!

Oh yeah, om nom nom. I will give you my quick-and-easy apple pie recipe at the bottom of the post. Also, I don't know if I mentioned this but Dennis has been on the low-carb diet for a few months now and is doing great! He has lost a lot of weight and it is really fun having him be more involved in the kitchen, seeking out new recipes for us to try, etc. He found this low-carb pumpkin cheesecake recipe and it turned out fantastically! We changed it a bit and used pumpkin pie spice instead of the blend of spices they give. The almond-meal crust was an ingenious substitute for graham cracker too!

And lastly, for my birthday I made yet another apple pie:

Why is it pink, you ask? No, there is no food coloring involved. There is a new variety of apple on the market called a Pink Pearl that has hot pink flesh! I remembered reading an article about 6 months ago about the guy who spent years and years breeding this apple and how it was finally being sold as saplings, and just recently they showed up in the organic market up the street from my old work in San Francisco. I bought one and tried it and it really got the gears turning in my head. It tastes almost exactly like a granny smith, super tangy with very firm flesh that isn't super juicy. When you cut into them and leave them out, instead of turning brown like most apples do, the pink color only gets darker and more vibrant, which would make them a great choice fr fruit salads, etc. But I wanted to know if they kept their lovely color after being cooked, so I made my birthday pie out of them (and yes there is rainbow sanding sugar on top), and there you have it! I cannot ait to use them to make pink apple bread next. And just for fun, here are our sweet, wonderful friends Aaron and Star goofing around in the kitchen waiting for pie:

I love my happy home, it is filled with so many good things. Anywho, here is my apple pie recipe, taught to me by my mother. We usually don't use measuring cups and just eyeball everything, but if you are a recipe person I have approximated the amounts.

Quick Apple Pie

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2-pack frozen pie crusts

6-8 apples, mixed varieties or all sour

1/3 cup sugar, plus a little extra for sanding

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (yes, I know...)

Generous drizzle of maple syrup

2 tbsp cold butter, cubed

1 egg

1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Peel and quarter the apples, remove the cores, and slice them 1/4 inch thick.

2. Place apples in a big mixing bowl with sugar, corn starch, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup, and stir until all the slices are coated. If there is still a lot of watery juice at the bottom of the bowl, add more cornstarch.

3. Take your pie crusts out of the freezer and pour the apples into one, and toss the cubes of butter on top. Drizzle with more maple syrup if you like.

4. In a small bowl beat the egg together with the heavy cream, then brush some around the rim of the pie crust. Place the other frozen crust on top and press down gently. Brush the egg/cream mixture over the top crust and sprinkle with sugar. Be sure to cut 3 long slits in the center of the top crust to let steam out, but be gentle since the crust is frozen and it can fracture easily.

5. Place in the 350 degree oven on a cookie sheet to catch drips, and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the crust is an even golden brown all over. Enjoy!

Home is where you make it.

2011-10-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

So I know you all got a glimpse of the new apartment during our housewarming party post here, but I have been meaning to take more pictures of it in a less-crazy-and-crowded state. Now, I know what everyone really wants to see is the craft room/office space, but its just not quite finished yet. In reality, I know most of the house is not really "finished"; we still have a lot of pictures to hand and such, but it is close enough for now. So here in this half-assed-house-tour is the living room and kitchen!

Big red leather couches and the bay window. That bookshelf is 1/2 craft books and 1/2 cook books. There are little wall sconces that light up all over the living room.

Can we say built-ins! I was sold on this place the moment I saw them. Only thing I don't really like is that big black heater sticking out from the non-functioning fireplace in the lower right. I know they lake decorative covers for them but it already sticks out so far. Any suggestions?

Okay, I know this is goofy but it is one of my favorite things. Well, the mushrooms obviously are a motif that thrives throughout the house and if you look closely I think you can see one in almost every picture. But this little photo is of Dennis and his brother. He is the little one, and he still makes that face.

On the built-ins, the record player and grandma Renee on the left, great grandma Lometa (my middle-namesake) on the right.

The record collection and more mushrooms! The boxes house all of my camera supplies.

Poetry, scary stories, the camera collection, rock/seashell collection, and my Re-Ment kitchen!

Yes, I know, I am perpetually 4 years old.

And a secretary! My life is complete.

Our little dining nook. I have some funny little garlands I want to hang in the kitchen some time soon, but my vintage apron collection adds plenty of color for now. I stole the valance idea from the interwebs. We are still looking for a nice little wooden dining table with some drop-leaf action going on, so until then the lawn furniture will have to do!

My favorite built-in in the house! I am so glad I can finally display all my cool old kitchen stuff. I just wish the kitchen cbinets had glass doors because I have tons of cool stuff in them too!

The fridge magnet collection lives on from the last apartment, and it just keeps growing. The bottom half of the fridge is completely covered in magnetic poetry. Always inappropriate of course.

I have to say I think the kitchen is my favorite room in the house. I put the cup hooks in and I love seeing my mug collection. I also love letting people pick their favorite mugs when I make tea.

I don't know if the pictures do justice to how huge the kitchen is, but all in all between the massive amounts of storage space, gas stove, and granite countertops, I am spoiled!

And to complete the tour, our little hallway of art. And yes, that is Dennis' young face badly photoshopped onto a felt poster of Conan, and a picture of Elvira signed to me. This is home. I wouldn't have it any other way.

How-Tuesday #29!

2011-10-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

Happy How-Tuesday! This week we have a shift dress pattern, a video tutorial for turbands, and a chicken pot pie recipe!

Oh Martha, how I love thee. I love that she has been doing more fashion-y stuff lately, and this dress is lovely and super-duper easy to make. Check out the video/tutorial here.

Turbands are a recent blip on my fashion radar and I am very interested to see if I can pull the look off one of these days. This sweet little video tutorial has 3 different variations and they look nice and easy, so someday soon I will give them a go. Watch the video here.

This pot pie recipe has me drooling, I cannot wait to try it! Try it for yourself here.

A little help from my friends.

2011-09-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

I just had to share these cute behind-the-scenes photos of my little helper from my last etsy shoot:

He helped hold up the cards of hair clips in the light box and he also helped me set my white balance before I started shooting.

I have been an avid photographer ever since I was in high school and my father gave me his old Pentax that he used to take on hunting trips in the 70's. It fascinated me to no end and I loved the weight of it, the act of loading the film, manually focusing, feeling the shutter click, and having to advance the film. I even loved the beat-up old leather satchel that housed it and all the fancy lenses and other accessories. I still take a lot of photos with that camera, and now I have a fancy-schmancy digital one as well, along with a few old fun film cameras just for goofing around. I want to make photography a bigger part of my work life, so like I said in this post I am working on finding the perfect printers to make prints of my work to sell. But along with that, I have started doing product photography for people other than myself.

I recently teamed up with Errol Davis, one of the owners of Metaphor Organic, to take some new photos of his beautiful soaps so they can get their online shop up and running. I am very pleased with how they came out, and I think he is too, so hopefully I will be doing this more often. I have a new online portfolio of actual work-like photography I have done here: http://chaseclark.carbonmade.com/, so please check it out! If you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and are looking to have some nice photographs taken, please drop me a line! I would also like to look into doing more portraits and maybe even trying my hand at some events like weddings or baby showers. I have never been the sole photographer for a wedding, so if someone around here wants a free photographer for their wedding, the first one to contact me and let me shoot for them will not have to pay a dime! Just let me know!

Custom Owls For Sale!

2011-09-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

If you remember in this post I talked about making a special edition set of my owl pincushions for the first A Fair to Remember I participated in. These little hipster owls have been all the rage and I am just about sold out, so I thought it would be fun to do another round. But this time, I will make you custom ones! All you have to do is tell me a few colors and I will find the perfect plaid fabric and felt combination to make it with. And of course, each owl comes with six custom-made pins that I hand-draw and assemble. They come with a moustache, lomo camera, fixie bike, typewriter, thick-rimmed glasses, and big retro headphones. The listing is up in the shop right now and if you miss out just convo me and I will make another listing of it for you!

How-Tuesday #28!

2011-09-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Its How-Tuesday again! This week I have a lovely and easy to make dress, paper roses, and a single-serving peanut butter cake!

This dress reminds me a bit of the 15-Minute Babydoll Dress Tutorial I posted a while ago. Main difference: Pockets! Heck yes! Check out the tutorial here.

I love these rolled paper flowers and I want to make a bunch to decorate the house. They look super easy to make too. The photo tutorial can be found here.

My love of peanut butter in desserts is no secret around here. I love this little cake because it takes all of a minute to make in the microwave and it is single serving so I will not go overboard and eat an entire peanut butter confection all by myself! Here is the recipe.

Shop Update... Also a Life Update!

2011-09-26T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Times they are a-changin' around here as of late, and it is all very exciting but kinda scary at the same time. I have finally decided to switch day jobs and try to focus more on my own pursuits. Bum bum buuum! Thursday is my last day at the toy store and Friday is my first day at the new job. I will be working part time at the most amazing scrapbooking store I have ever set foot in and the rest of my time will be devoted to etsy and craft fairs, plus some other personal projects and such. Also, I am still trying to get up the guts to do more freelance photography jobs and/or sell prints of my favorite art photos, and I feel like having to make ends meet on a reduced salary will probably be the fire lit under my behind that gets me to do it. I have a lot of back-logged stuff to blog about, but for now I will just say that the shop has been updated with new hair clips, cake bunting, and squirrel ornaments, with more to come soon. Wish me luck!

Versatile Blogger Award!

2011-09-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

Limar over at On A Seperate Note gave me a Versatile Blogger Award! Hehe, this makes me happy because I really pride myself/drive myself crazy over the amount to different stuff I post on here because I am a chronic hobbyist. So I am supposed to list 7 things about myself and link to some other blogs I think are versatile, so here we go:

1. I have 3 half-sisters who are all nearly 20 years older than me.
2. I can solve a Rubix Cube in 3 minutes.
3. I love to play ukulele and sing, and I can rock a guitar too, but I cannot play drums to save my life.
4. I used to bellydance all through high-school.
5. I can speak French (took it in high school).
6. I want to get a total of 5 crafty tattoos someday, and I know what they all are and where they will go.
7. If I was doing a cross-country road trip in a van that held me and 5 other old men, I would invite David Hasselhoff, Sean Connery, Bruce Campbell, Jackie Chan, and Timothy Dalton. The old man "man van" is complete, oh yes.

And here are some blogs I think you guys should check out as there should be something for everyone:

http://une-deuxsenses.blogspot.com/
http://www.ijustmightexplode.com/
http://juriannematter.blogspot.com/
http://littlebiggirlstudio.blogspot.com/

And there are dozens more on my sidebar under Favorite Fellow Bloggers! Thanks Limar!

How-Tuesday #27!

2011-09-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Howdy everyone! For this How-Tuesday we have a guide to table setting and etiquette, how to sew a faced invisible zipper, and a recipe for a cookie within a cookie. Om nom nom.

I stumbled upon this quick little tutorial explaining the proper way to set a table for a bunch of different kinds of events, including a buffet! I love learning about good old fashioned etiquette so this made me happy. And there are links to videos about dining etiquette too. Check it out here.

In the interest of being able to sew my own clothes a little more often, I found this tutorial to be a great help. It is just one of those nice finishing techniques that makes a garment really sing. The lovely tutorial can be found here.

Its an Oreo. Banked inside a chocolate chip cookie. Need I say more?