8.30.2009

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8.27.2009

Abigail Brown

Visit the fun little textile world of Abigail Brown!

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A Few things for the Kiddlets

Lice Bomb- "Lice Bomb uses natural terpenes and hydrocarbons from high grade essential oils that can normally be ingested safely by humans but have higher solvent powers than chemical paint thinners. These natural solvent oils smell nice to us but not nice for lice. Due to its plant derived origins, Lice Bomb is non-toxic and non-aggressive to humans when used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions."

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If I wore pierced earrings I would buy these and wear them to Oktoberfest...

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8.26.2009

Cute little owl cake.

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An so our adventure begins....
We selected a small town in Washington state to move to. We found a nice little house (for less then half the money of our current place), overlooking the water We gave notice to our landlord yesterday. He was the best landlord ever. How many people can say they have a great landlord? I have had many and I have hated them all, but not this guy. I guess that's what happens when you pay $2800.00 a month for rent tho.
We closed our business down as of Friday. F-ing economy!
I have been selling everything off through Craigslist and Etsy. I have been selling a lot of my knick knacks into foreign countries. Interesting. Makes me wish I could mail myself off to Austrailia.
We bought a small trailer to haul the few things that we wish to keep. When you are selling off your stuff you find that you just don't want any of it. I would much rather have the cash now, and replace items later. Plus living in L.A. county means that you have a fantastic chance of selling things and getting good money for them. Everyone here uses Craigslist, something I will miss in Washington.
We hope to be out of California in about 3 weeks. I have so much to do in such a short time but I am very excited to be making a change.

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8.22.2009

Tea Shirt

Check out the bizarre world of Meryl Smith. I love the "tea shirt"!

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8.21.2009

how to make a radish mushroom


Find out how at Anna the red's bento factory.

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8.20.2009

Pigeon Pilfer from Michael Stevenson on Vimeo.

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Zine Fest 09 is this weekend! Workshops on DIY screen-printing & bookbinding!
It's a FREE annual two-day conference for independent and underground publishing. Exhibitors come from all over the West Coast, and while the focus is on zines, all walks of DIY life are represented — comics, arts and crafts, literary presses, and more. SF Zine Fest was founded in 2002 by Jenn of Starfiend Distro.
Zine Fest

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8.19.2009

Superhero Supplies Catalog!

I have always been a fan of the Eggers/McSweeney's/826 trifecta of awesomeness, and this just seals the deal. Great work through and through.

"Our 826 storefronts are exciting, whimsical, magical, and sometimes downright weird places where you can purchase anything from a new positronic brain for your favorite robot to a giant can of mammoth chunks for your next 450 B.C.-themed dinner party. Want some (decent) peg leg oil for your next pirate adventure? How about a cryptozoologist’s career starter kit or a space vehicle hull repair patch? Each product has been thoughtfully created by designers across the country, and now, with Essentially Odd, you can get an inside look at featured products from each 826 chapter. The catalog comes complete with notes and thoughts from the innovative minds behind the scenes, such as the following:
"Muscle" and speed of Light Canisters" :
The general concept for the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company store, from the beginning, was that it was a kind of Lowe’s or Wal-Mart for Superheroes. It would be the place where heroes could come get all the necessities imaginable that one might need for crime-fighting at unbeatable prices. So, we knew that our flagship line had to have that generic feel to it—as though there were a bunch of other fancy, expensive superhero products out there, but ours was the exact same thing only cheaper. Once the label was designed, the hard part would be thinking up a whole range of products that superheroes just wouldn’t be able to live without.
– Sam Potts, 826NYC Designer
span style="font-size:85%;">Essentially Odd features more than 150 pages of color photos of each 826 chapter’s storefronts and products, along with notes and commentary from the product designers. It is perfect for design enthusiasts, 826 fans, or those without enough cash to visit each 826 chapter in person"

Available for $12.00 at 826 National



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Isabel Quiroga (NL) designed a bookcase made of used tables. The tables are sawed through the middle and stacked together. The design lends itself to various purposes.
arteko

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8.17.2009

Today was jam makin day! Hooty mutha frickin hoo. I am beat!
After picking and washing the grapes we then popped their guts out of their skin. Pureed the skin with a bit of sugar.
Cooked the guts and skins with sugar and pectin. A bunch of straining, cooking, adding more sugar. More cooking and straining.

8 hours later we have 6 jars of jam! I'd like to think that I did a lot of the work but aside from picking the grapes and squeezing the skin off my husband did the majority of the job. I am still trying to figure out how this is better than buying a jar of jam....
Grapes- free (more or less if you don't count the amount of water you had to give them)
Organic Sugar- about $5.00 (we tried to not over sugar it)
Pectin- $3.00
Jars and lid- $6.00
Gas on the stove- $? (come on-it was on like all day)
Water for washing EVERYTHING IN THE KITCHEN -$?
Labor- I'd like to think I'm worth at least $10.00 an hour for jam making.....

So our jams works out to be about $15.00 a jar before I mark it up 50% for retail. Fantastic! Anyone want to buy some?

The house smells like Manishevitz.

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8.14.2009

Sewn Machines by The Gun Club



"Sewn Machines are a series of analogue devices rendered in recycled, vintage and found materials. They are designed and hand-made by the design group, “The Gun Club,” in Los Angeles, CA. Materials are selected from the collections, leftovers and cast-offs, of the designers and their associates. Sewn Machines can be seen as a sort of by-product of the group’s myriad creative processes; as such, no two are alike and their availability fluctuates."
fifth floor gallery

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Jo Hamilton's Crochet Portraits

Jo Hamilton creates these stunning portraits in crochet, based on photographs.

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The Last Knit

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8.13.2009

I learned a valuable lesson last night- always use UPS to deliver your Etsy sales! I accidentally put the wrong labels on the wrong packages and when Mr. Massachusetts received Miss Maryland's wire basket instead of his teacups I was able to reroute the teacups and email him a shipping label to send the basket off. You can't do any of that with the post office!




Even he has to say "ah doy!" when he hears himself there! You said it yourself dude- it's the government run businesses that have all the problems!

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The Knitted Chairs


So frickin cool! Again, just in time for Autumn. Get your FREE pattern here. The Knitted Chairs

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I love the simplicity of these Hang Out wall hooks and Emotive Tealight Holders wall hooks by David Zachary. $18.00 for 2! You just can't beat that.


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Autumn is just around the corner. That means that many regions will get a bunch of rain. Why not be prepared with a diy-able recycled umbrella rain skirt!

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Spice up some old farm chairs with this modern paint treatment!
Studio Ziben

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8.12.2009

How to Make Bunting from Vintage Book Pages

I love to make bunting. In fact I love making it so much I should be selling that in my Etsy shop! I have been making it and hanging it for the month around Sophie's birthday. It is the most festive time of year in this household!
Papercrave found a great tutorial at Twoandsix for making bunting from vintage book pages.

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8.11.2009


I have spent the last couple of days posting my collection of craft, sewing, cooking and various other books to my Paper Waits shop. Have a looksee, there has to be something in there that you want! I have tried to under price everything too!




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8.07.2009

500 Pencils


"What would one color be without 499 others?

Introducing the only set of colored pencils in the world that matches the span and wonder of human creativity.

Express whatever you dream, with beautiful visual precision.

Each pencil is its own story. A unique hue with an inventive name to inspire the far corners of your creativity.

Together, the colors suggest infinite possibilities."





"It's human to have favorites. To be drawn to certain colors, to have others surprise you. We believe the greatest beauty of 500 Pencils is that you don't receive all of them at once, but over the course of 20 months.

It gives you new focus as an artist, working with color families and feeling the precious nature of each pencil. We send 25 pencils a month, crafted to order. (It's not possible for us to send them any faster: that's how long they take to make.)

As you build to 500, the pencils become your story and experience. It's about enjoying an unhurried creative process, and the artist - over time - you become."
500 Pencils

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8.04.2009

The Dog and the Butcher

The Dog and the Butcher by Jonathan Holt from Jonathan Holt on Vimeo.

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Since we are planning our move in 2 months I am not going to buy that super cool castle for Sophie until after our move. Yesterday I grabbed some boxes and craft supplies that I seem to have an abundance of, and whipped (more like- it took me all day!) up a temporary castle for her.

In the end she was very happy with the end result!



Still have some work to do on the inside...

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I have typed this first line over and over again about 10 times now. We have some huge changes in the works right now. A bit of history for you- my husband and I started a wholesale distribution of green building materials about 5 years ago. It bloomed and bloomed. This year has been absolutely terrible. No one is building. No one has money for remodels. Banks are not lending and the are calling in the notes for loans that they have already given. We are on the front lines of this whacked economy. Basically, business for us is now in the crapper and we need to move on to something else.
We are going to take this opportunity to relocate out of California. To a small town up north near Seattle and Canada. To raise our child in a safer climate. To see that she gets a better education than California could offer. To get into a boater friendly community. To bring something to a community that might otherwise be lacking.
I have begun the arduous task of selling off all of our possessions. I have lots of Craigslist ads, (check here for links to the ads). I am adding stuff to my Etsy stores daily and discounting them soon there after. Check in often here and here.

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I would love to know what you think of the recent changes here and also if there are things that you would like to see more or less of.

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