can't sleep, must blog

one of the many reasons i love my friend kristy is that she gets really excited about things. like movies. like mostly exactly the same movies i do. we saw moulin rouge in the theatre 5 times together, and there are certain movies that we will always just save to see together... mostly julie taymor films, anything with ewan mcgregor, and baz luhrman films. somehow, before the issue of vogue with these photos was on the stands, she had emailed them to me. i was immediately entranced (although i would prefer to substitute ewan for hugh) and can't stop looking at these gorgeous images. australia. november. kristy - it's a date.

we'll miss you, ewan.

she's crafty

the bean, ready to shop. like mother, like daughter. we had a great time at crafty bastards, and scored some awesome stamps from sewing stars.

new work

flickr friday - noosed kitty

i was lucky enough to have jamie of noosed kitty as my neighbor at pile of craft - she was endlessly patient while the bean and i ran behind her booth each time we needed to get out. (it was a tight squeeze there.) i didn't have time to look at all of her work when i was there, but as soon as i got back home i regretted it immensely - they are all so wonderful. luckily, i had noticed this guy from afar, and was able to scoop him up in bookmark form.

i love the immense amount of personality she infuses each character with, and i especially love that you never know where you'll find an errant cleaver in the mix. she's also working on some work using embossing plates that i am patiently waiting to see.


i didn't even realize until much later that she was the woman behind these adorable dachshunds! ever since we got our pippi dog, my husband and i have a thing for dachshunds - and i had been meaning to buy this card for him for valentine's day, then our anniversary, etc. this year for sure.

noosed kitty will be at artscape this july, so stop by and see her!

check out noosed kitty on etsy, or on flickr. i promise you'll smile, too.

want to be on flickr friday? go to my flickr page and mark me as a contact, and you may be chosen for an upcoming feature!

all about me

i usually don't mirror posts i write for the BEST blog, which often means i write there and not here! but this one took so long, and yet i had so much fun, here it is:

Twenty things you didn't know about me, by jenmenkhaus

1. I have an unreasonable, unrelenting fear of spiders.
2. Mayonnaise grosses me out.
3. I have always wanted to go to India.
4. My hair used to be pink.
5. I stayed up all night to read the last Harry Potter book.
6. If I could eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be sushi.
7. I saw Moulin Rouge five times in the theatre the first week it came out.
8. I can always justify spending money on shoes.
9. I miss Jeff Buckley.
10. I am terrible at gardening.
11. I make coffee so sweet, it tastes like candy.
12. The most difficult thing I have ever done was ride a bike in San Francisco.
13. Among the jobs I have had – dog groomer, ice cream scooper, produce stand attendant.
14. My husband proposed to me at the Haunted Mansion / Nightmare Before Christmas ride in Disneyland.
15. I can do math in my head.
16. I speak enough French to get by. I can swear in Spanish or Italian, and I know the words for “beer”, “jewelry”, “vegetarian”, and “thank you” in German and Czech.
17. I actually like playing video games, although I rarely do.
18. I once drove to Boston on a whim.
19. No one believes this, but I am actually an introvert.
20. I would move to London in a second.

finally recovered

i had such a great time at pile of craft this weekend. thanks to those of you who stopped by to say hello! i even had time to chat with some fellow crafters, my very patient neighbor jamie of noosed kitty, the ladies of the richmond craft mafia, rachel of red prairie press, and many more. i even scored a much-coveted ceramic necklace from shawna of pink kiss.

thanks cccm!

things i learned this weekend

• i will always find a way to procrastinate before a show (like making a new sign)
• early in the morning, it is quite likely that i will nearly put salt in my coffee, instead of sugar
  
• if i put a white-ish shirt on, i will immediately spill that coffee on it
• it is impossible to eat a hummus sandwich gracefully
• i should always remember my hand cart when going to a show
• velcro is really difficult to stitch through
  
• after a show, i really can sleep for 12 hours straight
  

see you tomorrow...

...at pile of craft!

photo by rachel is coconut&lime

two more days...

Check out all of these cool crafters - I can wait to see what they have to offer! See you Saturday!

1 Boy 1 Girl	FolktaleFibers	Popidiot
Bake Sale Designs*	Giant Dwarf Design	Pretty Silly Things
Bees Knees	Illegible Ink	Red Prairie Press*
Beth Pohlman	Imogene*	Richmond Craft Mafia
Big Pink Curlers	Indie Fixx Shop	Sharp Shirter
Biggs & Featherbelle	It Knits*	Sleepy Records*
Bower Box	Jenny Jen 42	Spaghetti Kiss*
The Broken Plate	Kiss My Crafts*	Sugar Paperie
Brunie’s Bakery	Lisa Kovatch Pottery	Sweet Pepita
Buncombe Buckles	Little Flower Designs	Tie Bags
Bunny Butt Apothecary	Littlest Bean	Tiger Lilly Shop
The Candy Thief	Megan Auman	Underneath My Tree
Carlybird Weaves	Monsters By Morgan	Vaya Bags
Cotton Monster*	Noosed Kitty
Flock	Pink Kiss Pottery*

The SECOND annual Pile of Craft held on Saturday, June 21st, 2008. The event, featuring 40+ crafty vendors, will be held indoors at St. John’s Church located at 2640 St. Paul St, Baltimore, MD 21218, from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM.

More info.

more new work

happy father's day!

i just gave my husband this awesome shirt from a local etsian, spaghettikiss. and lots of teas from my favorite tea mistress, which i get to share, thanks to 18 hours of labor. :)

now, off to mow the lawn, while rick and the bean play. happy father's day!

flickr friday - mylittleoogabooga!

i have a thing for monsters, and have amassed a small collection of monster plush, paintings, etc over the years. when i went into my contact pool this morning to choose the featured artist today, even half-awake and with no coffee in hand (yet) this amazing robot monster from mylittleoogabooga! just jumped out at me. i mean, look at him! amazingly detailed, completely play-able, and oh, so colorful.

i met danielle last fall - if i remember correctly she hearted me on etsy, and i saw her avatar, went to her shop, and immediately fell in love. we did a trade, and i got this guy to give my husband for christmas. (we like pirates around here, too.) these guys are super well made, and she is just the sweetest person as well.

since then, her work has just gotten better and better, and cuter! just look at these mini-monsters! tee-hee-hee-hee!

check out mylittleoogabooga! on etsy, or on flickr. i promise you'll smile, too.

want to be on flickr friday? go to my flickr page and mark me as a contact, and you may be chosen for an upcoming feature!

must...make...flowers

i'm still here, but under lots of felt! you'll be able to find these guys (and me) at pile of craft next week!

baby birds

the bean and i have been spending quite a good deal of time at her gigi and poppy's house, since my mom's surgery a few weeks ago, and one of the coolest things has been happening there. my parents have a firewood rack on their front porch, and right on top of it, exactly at the bean's eye level, a dove built a nest and laid 2 little eggs in it. we spend a lot of time on the front porch, and the dove has gotten used to us, with the exception of when the bean offers her a pancake or some cheese, and so we've had a ringside seat for the whole bird-maternity process.

they hatched last week, and they have grown tremendously in just a few days. the mother bird is still diligently sitting on them, so we don't know quite how big they are, but i just never imagined they could get that big after being in such tiny eggs. completely amazing.

flickr friday - sweet pepita

it's really easy to walk into one of those big fabric stores, pick up a bolt of fabric, and take some home to whip up an outfit for your little one. what's not so easy is scouring thrift stores for old tees with more life left in them, then taking them home, washing them a million times, and putting them together to make something new. as those of us who use found materials know, half of the battle is actually getting the materials to make what you want to make.

yet, shannon of sweetpepita still manages to find the greatest vintage tees around, and even uses organic cotton for things like trims, and fabric made from recycled plastic bottles for bibs. (how do they do that?) and no sergers here, each seam is double-sewn for durability.

i mean, how can you argue with space ghost? sweetpepita has a huge assortment of tees, now in sizes up to 4t, plus pixie hats, bibs, scarves, and those cool dresses which can be worn as shirts as your little one grows.

check out sweet pepita on etsy, or on flickr. i promise you'll smile, too.

want to be on flickr friday? go to my flickr page and mark me as a contact, and you may be chosen for an upcoming feature!

better late than never

i don't get out much. this is no secret. so when i'm sitting here to write up my experience with the "new" sweeney todd film, i feel, well, like i don't get out much. it's worth mentioning, however, that for the first time in ages, i actually set down my sewing to watch a movie. (and this was not only because we had the subtitles on, since neither of us could understand the dialogue.)

i had mixed feelings about the film, primarily because i am not a huge fan of blood, but i did come away with 2 conclusions:

1. tim burton will continue to use johnny depp and helena bonham carter in every movie he makes
2. i will never stop loving his sets and costumes (i would so rock that outfit above)

peachy treasury

it was on the fp about 20 minutes after i finished it, and lots of work sold... crazy! i'm not a pink person, but i love this shade. i'm constantly amazed by the great work on etsy, and the beautiful photography.