Monday, December 31, 2007

a preview of something i've been working on:




i havent been very creative since ive been home. ive been so antsy and i have some nice ideas, but i havent been motivated. oh well. at least i have something to keep me busy...

Friday, December 07, 2007

happy december!
here is a wish list:

a mercier kilo tt. this is my new bike-of-choice. it's more practical (and less expensive) than a keirin. i also want to get it powder coated. i'll probably go with a sea-foam green. or maybe navy.

here are some books i want to read and thus i want to own:








I am literally obsessed with this bracelet from bittersweetsny. i actually think i like a ring they have better. but this bracelet is the epitome of awesome design.


owl pendant for A.P.C. owls are very trendy, and of the millions of owl necklaces i've seen, this is the most unique and cute.


no description needed - just gorgeous.


a 500$ honeycomb blanket from 2modern. so beautiful but more money than i would ever want to spend on a blanket.

what do you want for the holidays?

Monday, November 26, 2007

My boyfriend, Will, turned 21 on Sunday. I wanted to make it a pretty awesome bday - 21 is a pretty big one.


I bought him a Jeff Lewis plays Crass album. It's really good. I saw this wrapping style in a Martha book. Basically you wrap your gift in tissue paper and then wrap it again in folded parchment paper. I just used tracing paper. The folds are very convenient for tucking in notes.


I also got him a straight razor set from Lehmann's and wrapped it in newspaper.


I dropped off a strawberry cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory in the hotel room before I brought him there and at midnight we lit the candles, he blew them out, and then we went to the bar for a drink and to watch people dance.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007


I got the most awesome and unexpected care package in the mail on Friday.

After "ignori[ng that] part," I found a note with a cute description of everything contained inside.



this picture doesn't include all of the awesome things inside. everything was so thoughtful and perfect.


thanks, Anh!

Friday, November 09, 2007

GOOD WAYS TO CHEER UP (non craft edition)

1. listen to songs about people who feel the same way as you. Jeff Lewis, Spoonboy, and Kimya Dawson have been saying all the things that I can't lately.
2. plan something fun. I've been starting to think about christmas, which is fun because then I can think about being home and being with the people I love. I want to make it a really nice time.
3. lately looking at pictures on Flickr can really cheer me up.
4. call a loved one. will cheers me up.
5. think about drugs.
6. go somewhere alone.
7. when you're bored in class make up stupid stories abotu the people around you.
8. eat great tasting, beautiful food
9. buy something nice for yourself or a friend.
10. take a day! when it's your day you feel great.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Well,
One post during October.
I've hit an all time low!

I feel so uncreative here - but today while reading about el dio de los muertos i remembered my little embroidered day of the dead skull that i have been meaning to make into a bag. then i looked down at my sewing machine (that's right! my very own sewing machine! a belated bday gift to myself), and I looked at my thread, so I decided to get off my ass - and well, get back on my ass - but this time with zipper and 4 pieces of fabric in hand. I didn't have straight pins but it worked well anyway. So I present to you, my DAY OF THE DEAD ZIPPERED BAG, the first product of MY BRAND NEW SEWING MACHINE!





yay!

I need to admit- i was lazy for halloween and did nothing. i'm glad it's over. all the halloween stuff in the stores just made me feel guilty for not feeling it this year.

I plan on getting an early start to xmas. As you may have read, last year I decorated with a cowboy theme. this year it's going to be lumberjack-ed out. lumberjack xmas!! how fun! squirrels, woodgrain, thermoses, flannel, fir trees - i'll keep you updated.

School is going a bit worse. i am really lonely and busy here. but today, riding my bike around some of the most beautiful buildings and gorgeous trees was enough to banish all negative thoughts from my head.

anyway, tell me what you think!

Monday, October 22, 2007



the fabric store makes me happy.

i might be in a craft fair! ill let you know if it works out.

ive been trying to embroider but transferring images onto fabric is hard with a dorm-sized iron,

Thursday, September 27, 2007



i love care packages
i love sending them
and i love receiving them.

the picture above is a care package i sent my friend anh.


inside, will and i included magazines, candy, pretty colored paper, lip gloss and a handmade accordion book i had made a long time ago and was never able to give to her in person.




the book was a mini scrapbook of pictures of us throughout high school.

ingredients of a good care package:
something handmade is always appreciated. today i received a tiny box - inside were clay creatures and twine on which to string them. my boyfriend is pretty sweet. I sent my friend chandler a care package over the summer and included a handsewn pencil case. she told me recently that she still uses it!

food. this is always appreciated, especially if the recipient is in college where every foodstuff is overpriced. think about their favorite candy or snack and stick some in. if someone were to send me a package, theoretically of course, i would greatly appreciate watermelon sour jacks. just saying.

novelties. junk is always more appealing if it has been sent across the state. in chandler's care package, i included a tamogatchi. anh's had a headband. little things are sweet reminders of friends. it need not be just junk either, send pencils, pens, notecards, stationery; think useful.

a thoughtful gift. if you know a book someone would love to read, send it to them. my mother sent me a necklace she knew i'd love. it doesn't have to be too expensive - but if you find something and say "______ would love this" (this happens to me daily), send it to them! why not?

a note. a handwritten note is a sweet touch and reminds the recipient how much thought you put into her gift.

with that said, i would like to stress that if receiving a care package seems really fun, you should give to receive. create good care-package-karma.

i am sorry i have neglected this blog. school has been stressful, but that is no excuse!

Monday, September 03, 2007



you cant get sandwiches like this in the dining halls here.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

i have moved in to school. my room is bigger than i imagined and there's lots of storage space. i even have an extra closet in the suite common room because there are three of us in a smaller room. i sleep on a top bunk. it is alright but hard to get up and down easily.


the "ladder" is just the support beams of the bed.


but my bedding is cute! it's hard to take pictures of something so high up.

if the seemingly great idea occurs to you to jump from a bunk bed this high onto the hard linoleum floor, ignore it.

secretly i want to come home. i dont think i should admit that though...

Monday, August 20, 2007

a list of things i want



wall hanging by salvor fauna. 275$
i have a pillow by this brand and i love it. this wall hanging is pretty expensive but worth it for such a beautiful piece of original art. the coolest thing about it is that it's printed on little balsa rectangles that are attached to a flexible backing. it's beautiful.


salvor fauna also makes bags. i love them. i want one - ergo it makes the list.


i love the area big bedding. it's beautiful. i sorta wish i'd have bought this for my dorm room. but i think this is good first house bedding. so will better love it if we ever move in together. he will. how could you not?


a chris king 1 1/8" no threadset in silver. they're beautiful and awesome. they're also 135$. which i cant bring myself to spend. maybe because im broke.


uncle eddie's chocolate chip cookies are the best cookies ever. but they dont sell them on the east coast.


bag from giant robot. i love this penguin tiger bag. my purses are usually all totes. and i need a new one because my discovery center for cell bio tote has chocolate on the bottom.


i love this tee shirt with art by souther salazar from giant robot. it's reallyy cute. women's large please!

Friday, August 17, 2007

i sorta neglected the blog for a bit and im going to try to make up for it. lately ive been sort of prepping for moving out so i guess i havent had as much time to craft. im worried that my dorm room wont be big enough to suit all my crafting needs. i have so much to think about. should i bring my gocco? how and i going to cut straight edges without my mother's nice paper cutter? will i have room for all my paper, markers, pens, x-acto knives, rub on transfers, stickers, glues, glitter, etc? im worried but excited! i also want to decorate my wall, if i have space. there are three of us living in a small room and so hopefully ill have some wall space to make my own.


ive been watching futurama a lot lately. it's very funny. in fact, will and i had to make a mad dash to barnes and noble before it closed. we made it about 2 minutes before closing and picked up season three. so bender, the robot on the show, deserved to be immortalized as a pseudo stuffed animal. he was originally a zippered pouch but the lining bothered me because zipper kept eating it up, so i cut it up and made this.


ive also been into accordion books. they're really easy and i love to cover the squares with martha stewart paper. she has so many awesome color combos.
i bought a bunch of stuff to make a scrapbook, but ive decided that ill probably never get to it. so i cut up all the photos and supplies for accordion book use. theres no use hoarding this stuff. after all, shutterfly's not going anywhere.

i've missed this blog!
today i cannot get motivated. i need to get a chest xray. but id rather stay home and make accordion books. does anyone else feel that way?

right now i am waiting for will to come over and poke me until im ready to don the lead apron and get the stupid xrays done.


he is good motivation.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Will and I made smores cupcakes and they were delicious. I got the recipe from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman. This is the only recipe i've tried from this book but it was super delicious.



graham cracker cupcakes
.5 cup all-purpose flour
1.5 cups finely crushed graham crackers
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
.75 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
.75 cup milk
1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. mix flour, crushed graham crackers, baking powder, and salt together and set aside
3. cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. add vanilla and then alternate the flour mix with the milk. beat until smooth and then fold in the chocolate chips.
4. spoon the batter into cupcak liners and fill them about 3/4 full*
5. bake for 20-25 minutes. remove from oven and cool

marshmallow icing
2 egg whites
pinch of salt
.25 cup sugar
.75 cup corn syrup
marshmallows, crumbled graham crackers, and milk chocolate for decoration

1. beat egg whites with salt until soft peaks form. the egg whites get a lot bigger than you'd expect.
2. add sugar slowly while beating
3. gradually add corn syrup
4. beat until soft peaks form
5. drizzle the frosting onto the cupcakes
6. decorate

makes about 15 cupcakes, but i recommend doubling it. you cant have too many of these.


i decorated my cupcakes by microwaving marshmallows for about 15 seconds, placing a hot m-mallow on each cupcake, and piercing it with a graham piece. then i grated chocolate over the sticky topping.


will used crumbled graham crackers and chocolate chips and sprinkled them on his cupcakes.

we gave them out at fort reno. i think people liked them.

Sunday, July 08, 2007


made this for gideon for his birthday. he liked it. i was satisfied. i didnt think c3po looked c3po enough, but yeah.






here is a rhino embroidered pencil bag that will be for my etsy shop once i set it up. until then, im selling it for 23$ if anyone is interested. it's hand embroidered and hand-sewn. the embroidery is from an original drawing by yours truly.





this is another embroidered bag with another originial drawing - dead batteries - from a series called 10 things that are annoying. this one is smaller and is 20$. if you're interested let me know!

i know i havent posted in so long, but i have kept crafting. will and i will be going to california on thursday for 10 days. we are going to another diy craft fair in la called felt club and we're excited. it should be bigger than pile of craft.


i picked up this book, the guerilla art kit by one of my favorite bloggers, kerri smith. i made these king tomato stickers using a recipe she had for lick and stick stickers. the picture on the left is the drawing process. the stickers are all cut up now complete withthe mixture on the back of them. you need to get this book and try it out, so much fun.

hope everyone had a great 4th! i have more to post but ill try to break it up.

Thursday, June 07, 2007






im addicted to making these lined zippered bags that i found on this thread on craftster. i made them with all the scrap material in our house. zippers are really cheap and easy to "ninja," so they're virtually cost-free. also it's a great way to get used to zippers and the zipper foot. they're so easy!

also, i bought some great fabric from purlsoho. it was expensive but worth it.

i havent been doing too much sewing lately but yesterday i did hem a shirt-dress i got at good will. i also tacked the sleeves. it's a lot cuter now.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

magnolia bakery cupcakes.



Will and i made cupcakes from the magnolia bakery recipe. they turned out delicious. they're pretty buttery and dense, but still taste light. it's hard to explain. i guess you'll have to make them to see.

i got the recipe from the 52 cupcakes blog

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Line 2 muffin pans of 12 muffin spots each with cupcake liners. whatever they're called. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. In a small bowl combine both flours.
3. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
4. Add the sugar gradually and beat for 3 minutes or until fluffy. (will did this because he's really good at mixing. he has good arms because his car has manual steering)
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.
7. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix.
8. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about 3/4 full.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
10. Cool the cupcakes in the tin for 15 minutes.
11. Remove cakes from the tins and cool on a wire rack before icing.

for the icing,

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
6-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add in 4 cups sugar, then the milk and vanilla. On
medium speed of an electric mixer, beat about 3-5 minutes or until smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well (about 2 minutes) after each
addition, until the icing is thick enough for good spreading consistency (you may not need all
of the sugar. we used about 6.5 cups total).

we frosted ours pink and blue and just spread on. you could pipe the frosting from a pasty bag for the swirly look.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

There are all presents i've given my boyfriend:

I. I went through a softie phase and here is what came of it:

a.
this is an ankylosaurus stuffed animal i made in about an hour and a half without a pattern. it is very crude but cute in its crudeness.

b.
this is an elephant i made with a supremellllly complicated pattern. im not the greatest sewer so he didnt turn out perfectly, but he's cute nonetheless. he's bigger than i thought he'd be. he took about 5 hours total and i worked on him on and off.

c.
here is ankylosaurus #2. he was made by embroidering an image and then sewing pillow-style. i wish i had used a thicker thread, but i do like how he came out. the sewing was a breeze but i rushed it. the embroidery took long but was worth it. id say it took about 4 hours on and off.

II. He loves Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author (Kafka on the Shore, Norwegian Wood, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle) so i made a triple layer stencil. i really like how it turned out.


ive been addicted to embroidery. it's so relaxing and rewarding. i love how things come out when they're done with thread. im thinking about doing one and then framing it for my dad for father's day. i think ill do one of a california craft bungalow because he loves architecture and that's one of his favorite types of houses. he also likes chairs, oddly enough. and jay-z. i have a weird dad.

sorry for the long wait! i dont know if i have any readers but i do know that i should post in this more frequently.