HANDMADE BRIGADE- SATURDAY 10-4
Tall Mouse Cerritos y’all! See you there!!! Cuteness will abound!!!!! More bias tape, NEW bias tape, and other new goodies will be unleashed!
Jun 5th, 2009
Jun 2nd, 2009
Yumalicious Baz Biz Weekend
Phew- what an incredible weekend! We’re still trying to get an accurate head count, but I heard that there were supposed to be a hundred thousand people at Maker Faire this weekend! I’m pretty sure I saw every single one of them. The event was incredibly packed full of not just people but awesome demonstrations, performances, and activities, in addition to thunderous, fifty foot blasts of flame every so often. And the costumes- sweet siren were they incredible! Here are just a few highlights;
The Neverwas Haul- an incredible 3 story victorian house on wheels. It’s as beautiful inside as it is outside. They actually take it on the street! I was told that the bottom floor is actually a ballroom! I think my favorite thing about this is that it’s built from reclaimed items. I’m pretty sure I saw my grandma’s old bathroom cabinets in there. You can find out more about this gorgeous building on wheels here.
Just a good ole’ rideable steel snail with flames shooting from its eyes, nothin’ special.
In case you needed more flame, here’s 50 feet of it shooting into the air. It would go off every so often, and not only could you feel the thunder from across the lawn and inside the Baz Biz building, but you could feel the heat from about 100 yards away. Totally cool. In case you need height reference, in the bottom left of the photo you can see some people’s heads.
But I know you crafty ladies aren’t here for giant balls of flame, so I’ll get to the cute stuff.
I finally got to meet Pollyanna Cowgirl in person! Yay! She was just across the aisle from me and holy cow does she have a cute booth or what! And hey, that apron she’s wearing looks familar . . . that’s cause I made it *=*
Also in the adorable sector:
Pie Bird Press and Honey Lux- I am in love. I’m sad that Honey Lux is kind of cut off in this photo, but no worries, I’ll post photos of what I bought from both shops (tomorrow- I need a breather man!)
Hambone and Jennicakes- so cute! I bought a sleepytime mask for my delicate eyes. I used it last night- Oh YES. Oh, look at that- she’s also wearing one of my aprons! I swear I didn’t choose these girls just because they’re wearing my aprons! We just all happen to have great taste!
Hue Yang Ceramics- so F-ing cute. I bought a couple of stamped ceramic magnets, but everything on her table was adorable- I’m not sure why Eric didn’t take photos of the actual things on the table. The booth itself is also really cute.
Um, oh yes, and my booth:
I know it’s kind of hard to see amongst the crazy backdrop of t-shirts- I was surrounded- but there I am, buttons, aprons, and all. This was day two so my booth is actually pretty picked over at this point. Those bias tapes sure did fly! Rest assured, I got the message- I will definitely be making more bias tape!
If you live in Southern California and you didn’t make it to Maker Fair Bazaar Bizarre, no worries, I’ll be doing the Handmade Brigade this Saturday, June 6 at the Tall Mouse crafts store in Cerritosl! Yay! I’ll be there, bias tape in tow, from 10 to 4pm, bringing you as much cuteness as you can handle!
May 28th, 2009
BAZAAR BIZARRE!!!! SATURDAY & SUNDAY!
I’m out of my mind busy, but I have to stop and invite you all out to see my first big crafty show in three years!!!! San Mateo, yo! Stop by, say hi, and get some crafty goodies! *You get extra special treatment if you mention that you read my blog *=*
And if you do come visit, don’t forget to bring armfuls of old clothes for Swap O Rama Rama! My booth will be in the center aisle, right next to the Swap!!!!
HECK YES!!!!!!!! See you there!
May 20th, 2009
Dreamy Decemberists- and Pin Cushion Rings!
Last night Eric and I went to see The Decemberists play at the Palladium. Holy sweet Mother. Who is this Shara Worden person? HOW do sounds to incredibly big come from that little person?! I think I am in love. If ever there was a magical connection between people, I swear this is it. Maybe she’ll join the band? It was a pretty damn rocking show. I was kind of nervous about this show, but it was completely mind-blowingly fantastic. I think a lot of the mind-blowing-ness came from Shara’s singing. Gave me goosebumps. Here’s a little taste, though in the Colbert Report show they seem to be holding back about 80% of the ROCK-ASS-ness. Still an awesome clip.
In case you don’t know who The Decemberists are, let me entice you with a photograph.
I picked this photo because I have the fan on the right. Squee!
What a lovely thing to do when you feel overwhelmed and exhausted, to go out and actually do something fun! You know how I knew it had been ages since I’d been anywhere? I felt completely awkward and socially inept around all those people! I seriously, seriously need to leave the house more often. We had a really fantastic time. I was nervous at first, because the very first time Eric and I saw The Decemberists was at the Hollywood Bowl, where they played with the L.A. Philharmonic. How can you beat that? Andrew Bird also played that night. So I was nervous about the show last night. But it was pretty damn cool. Pretty damn cool.
In crafty news, I finally put up some new goodies in the shop! Pin cushion rings for your pin protection pleasure! They’re lovely, and oval shaped, and tufted, and sweet. I’ll be putting up more stuff in the near-ish future, but I’m trying to stockpile some stuff for BAZAAR BIZARRE, which is in less than two weeks!
Aren’t they cute?
Apr 20th, 2009
Fantastic and Fantastically Hot Boutique Weekend
Holy Hotcakes it was so HOT this weekend!!! I had loads and loads of fun at both my crafty shows this weekend. I met so many fantastic vendors and just really had a great time being out with my goodies where people could actually touch and hold them. It’s been a while since I’ve done any shows and I’d forgotten how nice it is to see other people physically handling my things. Plus it’s nice when people compliment you *=*. Makes me feel good about having left my jobby job!
Here are some highlights:
These are a collection of painted figurines from Artesusanias. I had no idea they were soo tiny- the tallest one is 2 1/2″ tall! The little Fridas are less than 1 1/2″! I snagged myself the tall Virgen de Guadalupe that I’ve been drooling over, plus Diego and a tiny Frida- what a charming little family! I have to say these are incredibly done. They have so much detail- I’m totally in love. I want them all.
Very hip, skatastic fedoras- I discovered that my dad actually owns and wears one!!! I had no idea my dad was so hip! I see black Converse hi-tops in his Father’s Day future . . .
Here is a sneak peek at some new aprons. They’re all very sweet and charming . . . maybe too sweet and charming. I think they need some DANGER. Hmmm.
Um. This is my ravaged table. Kind of not pretty, but there are some new stuffs in there! See if you can pick them out.
All in all it was a really great weekend- but also very exhausting. I don’t know if I’ll do a double-show weekend again. I kinda have no choice though, because at the end of May I’ll be at BAZAAR BIZARRE!! Uh huh. Actually I’ve got plenty of work to keep me busy til then. I have my studio to sort out. Whatever psuedo-organization I had achieved before this weekend I totally destroyed by Saturday morning. I think I’m gonna go put on a movie and get started on that. Feels good t be a busy bee.
Apr 16th, 2009
Danger in the Flesh! This Weekend!
Thank you to everyone who came out to see my goodies in Pasadena today! I met some awesome vendors and had a great time selling goodies. But if you missed me in Pasadena today , you still have time! If you live in L.A. or are going to be around for the weekend here are two awesome events to drag all your lady friends to! Scrumptious, previously unleashed goodies will abound!
Tomorrow’s trunk show will be in the faaaabulous SFV (san fernando valley for those of you who dislike acronyms).
Sunday- 10 am- 3pm
Porter Ranch/Northridge, Ca
(Intimate garden trunk show with two other AWESOME vendors)
Hope to see you all there!
p.s. As an extra incentive to drag yourself out to the Valley- I will personally be making some delicious hors d’oeuvres! Oh, and there will be MIMOSAS as well. YUM! Did I mention the gorgeous garden with several waterfalls? Great weather for a garden trunk show . . .
Apr 7th, 2009
West Coast Journey- Portland and Olympia
The journey continues . . .
Portland: such a crime- we only had an afternoon in this incredibly perfect city, but we’ve already decided to move there. After having lunch in the Alphabet District (even the names are cute!) we went on the hunt for a fabric store for me to check out and ended up finding Bolt, in Alberta.
Bolt is kind of my fantasy of a fabric store- tiny as a closet, but piled to the ceiling with scrumptious fabrics and adorable trims. And it was PACKED. The middle of the day on a Wednesday, and it was totally crammed with shoppers- it was like a crafty utopia. Not only do they have the most incredible selection of adorable fabrics, but they also offer classes. I couldn’t help but ask where could they possibly find the room to hold classes? Surely they must have some larger location for classes. Nope. It’s called ingenuity. They put all their shelves on rollers and just move them to a corner when they need floor space! The shop ladies were totally lovely and I wish I could take a class with them! p.s. all of my house-hunting searches in Portland have involved testing the house’s distance to Bolt.
OH, but photos! You want photos I know.
Did I mention that it’s next door to a huge knitting shop? I forget the name, but if anyone knows, please email or leave a comment to jog my memory!
Olympia- Where the forest and the water become one (thank you, Bright Eyes for that line)
One of my favorite places ever. Eric went to Evergreen and I also lived there for a little while. My favorite thing about Olympia is that it’s this wonderful combination of progressive-artsy culture, small town living, and incredible forest and vistas.
Even though downtown Olympia is small enough to throw a stone across, it’s packed with boutiques and spas and hip little restaurants; in an 8 block radius I managed to find four crafty shops, four book stores, three spas, and I couldn’t even count the boutiques full of gorgeous, albeit not really utilitarian stuff. Oh, and I think they’ve got like three theaters there. And those numbers are just from memory, there might be like ten more of everything. Anyway, Olympia rocks. Here’s an example of why it rocks.
Free well water for whoever wants it. Anyway, we stayed at this very cool B&B, one of only two in Oly. It’s run by these really great people, who serve a miraculously delicious breakfast. Thank you Swantown Inn for being so awesome! Did I mention they’re walking distance from downtown? We had a view of the capital dome and slept in the most comfortable bed EVER.
I think I’m rambling. The purpose of this post was craftiness, Polly. Okay, I think I’m back on track. While in Olympia we stopped at Canvas Works, a HUGE shop dedicated to knitting and sewing. Not only do they have a fantastic assortment of fabrics and gorgeous artisan yarns, yes, including a hefty variety of canvas, but they also have a sewing loft and offer classes.
At this point in the trip I had kind of run out of money for fabrics. BUT no need to spend a fortune if you’re going to Value Village in Lacey. I scored on a hefty bag of vintage buttons, still on the original packaging, plus a bag of vintage bindings, trims, and bias tapes. I also got some size 2 knitting needles, which came in handy on the car ride home when I decided to take apart the cashmere scarf I’d made on the car ride up (the size 2s work way better than what I was using before). So here is my Northwest goodies bundle.
The fabrics are mostly from Bolt, buttons from Value Village. The baby blue Naugahyde, and the blue ticking, however, are from Fabrix on 2nd and Clement in San Francisco.
He’s drunk on shopping goodies. The awesome Par Avion stationary is from the Kinokuniya stationary shop in the Japantown mall in San Francisco.
Okay, I guess it’s time to start another day of moving stuff. Soon I’ll have the bedroom done and then I can move on to setting up my dream studio! Rest assured, there will be plenty of photos.
p.s. The April PD newsletter is mailing out in the next day or so, so if you haven’t signed up to be on the mailing list, now is the perfect time to do that!
