BEST is the best!

"Our hearts swell with B'more pride whenever we log onto The Baltimore Etsy Street Team's site, baltimore-etsy.blogspot.com. This is a compilation of all the local designers and crafters who have pages on Etsy, the popular online marketplace. The talent is awe-inspiring. Some of our faves: TheBrokenPlate takes vintage and contemporary dinnerware and gives it new life as a necklace or a ring. And vwstudios, where images on clay are created using a process that includes photography, painting and printmaking."

-from Baltimore Magazine's Best of Baltimore issue 2008

Yay, BEST! Thank you so much, Baltimore Magazine!

i heart mulder and scully

sigh. here's where i will no longer be able to hide my inner geek. i kind of forgot about the new x-files movie coming out, but now that i've seen this photo, i am a sooooooooooooooooooo excited to see my mulder and scully again!

i started watching x-files in college, and now that i think of it, it's funny how i can trace some of the changes in my life along the ritual that was sunday night tv. first, it was turning off the phone and squeezing on the thrift store sofa with my favorite roommates sara and colleen, then, later watching it with my friend christopher (who i convinced to name his new puppy "mulder") , and finally, heading over to the apartment shared by kristy, chip, and their roommate (now my husband) to cook a nice meal before turning on the tv. i am embarrassed to say that kristy and i screamed and cried when mulder and scully finally kissed.

i don't like science fiction, and i'm not really into tv, but something about the relationship between mulder and scully was addictive. i loved the reversal of stereotypes - the strong, practical female character and the emotionally vulnerable male. in fact, i just read this article, and i think the writer's got it just right.

anyway, nothing artsy or craftsy in this post, i'm just brimming with excitement.

the best summer giveaway

Here's a peek at the biggest giveaway we've had yet! The drawing will take place august 5th, so if you haven't signed up for the BEST mailing list, sign up now !

Work by BlockPartyPress, BowerboxPress, GreenStarStudio, JenMenkhaus, JennyJen42, JillPopowichDesigns, Miscelena, SpaTherapy, TheBrokenPlate, TigerLillyShop, VWStudios.

Good luck!

artscape

artscape is over. it was great to meet so many new friends, and see so many old ones. we even had a chance to make fish prints! thanks so much!

baltimore by hand

too tired to write, so much to tell... check out this sweet piece in the new Baltimore by Hand blog!

off to sleep

everything is packed (thanks, mom!), i can't move my fingers, and my brain is whirring. my husband just set our coffee maker to go off in the morning and charged my cell phone. that's love.

hope to see you this weekend at artscape! i'll be in the DIY section with fellow BEST members, CCCM members, and many more talented crafters. get a map here.

everything is a blur...

see you at artscape this weekend! check out this article about the new DIY section.

new mobile

i wish i had more time to make more of these - they are really fun to sew!

the baby "bath"

my dear, dear, wonderful (and impossibly picky) friend kristy is having a baby. not just any baby, an all organic, natural, feng shui baby. this means no plastic toys, no crazy baby accoutrements, and certainly no baby shower.

now, when i got married, kristy was wonderfully patient enough to make thousands of Mexican paper flowers for our tables. (i had just seen frida and was totally in love with this idea.) she was also bridesmaidzilla - she questioned every decision i made, and forced me to drive an hour away to go to a spa that she had chosen so i could relax. (i am one of those crazy people who are actually stressed out by spas.)

so, with that in mind, i decided that there was just no way she was getting out of having a shower. i did, however, minimize gifts- choosing only organic and local products. we kept the event small and hosted it at the very fancy Pazo. and instead of buying baby decorations, i made my own.


the "tree" was made from a few branches from our backyard. the leaves were cut from double-sided patterned cardstock, and the bird and nest were cut from felt and sewn to the branches. oh, and three little eggs are just very small plastic beads. i was especially excited about the little bird, because it was my first, albeit simple, 3-d stitching project.

i'm really excited to try more now! more photos here.

they're the BEST!

we had a blast shooting this photo, and it was featured in the storque today! go BEST!

give your dog a bone

when i have so much to do that i feel like i just might just start running in circles on my front lawn, what do i do? i add more. this week has seen a slew of bean projects, including a late -night (ok, 8pm, but for her that is late-night) batch of chocolate chip cookies and the creation of a little felt dog bone for one best friend named puppa.

puppa is our first and best friend, purchased on a whim by me because he was so cute and soft... i say was because this is how he used to look. our gender-confused (more on that later), recently re-stuffed friend has always gone everywhere and done everything with us. in the last few weeks, though, he must not only go and do, he must also have. (momma, puppa needs a lollipop, momma, puppa wants a cookie, too, momma, puppa needs his own new rubber stamp.)

well, this week, puppa needed a bone. and momma said yes. because, who needs sleep anyway? the bean was over the moon, more than any other gift she's ever gotten, and the bone must now go everywhere too. i have to say, it was well worth the time.

trunk show this sunday!

Double Dutch will play host to BEST this coming Sunday, July 13th for our first ever trunk show! There will be yummy eats and delicious drinks, as well as new work from BEST crafters.

Stop by between 11am and 5pm, meet BEST members, have a snack, and do some shopping. Also, enter to win a $50 gift certificate to Double Dutch for a future shopping spree! (Winner will be notified via email on July 14th, 2008.)

See you there!

Participating crafters:
DandelionBlu
JenMenkhaus
ElisaShereJewelry
TheBrokenPlate
SpaTherapy
JennyJen42
JillPopowichDesigns
TigerLillyShop
BethPohlman

BEST Trunk Show
Sunday, July 13th, from 11am - 5pm
Double Dutch Boutique
3616 Falls Road
Baltimore, MD 21211
410.554.0055
[ Map / Directions ]

a work in progress

i used to wear jewelry all the time, and now, it seems hard to remember to put any jewelry on. but when i received this lovely turquoise octagon from annie, i knew i was going to wear it somehow.

i've spent a lot of time experimenting, and can't decide how i feel about the crochet on the right. the octagon only has one drilled hole for connecting, and while the easy thing to do would have been to use it as a pendant, i had in mind from the beginning to have 2 connections. i tried several different crochet thicknesses, ranging from silk cord to embroidery thread, and while this is the best so far, not sure if it's right. to see the complete necklace, go here.

new work

i really like how this turned out, so i'll be making more! my poor, poor, little bean-model...

2000 hearts!!!

thank you, everyone!!!

happy 4th!!

computer day

with helper cat satchmo. it's amazing that i get anything at all done around here.