New Found Loves: The Runny Bunny

Since the holiday craft fair/order getting out rush is over I've had a little extra time to browse the World Wide Web. This has proven to be time well spent because I've "discovered" some awesome things & creative people out there.

The Runny Bunny

This ETSY shop run by Robin VanValkenburgh features slip-cast molds...but they aren't your everyday tchokes. Some are cast from vintage molds and irregularly glazed and others are strange combinations of animals and people. I was one of those kids totally in love with America's Funniest People's vignettes featuring Jackalope so these figurines are right up my alley.

SUPER SALE Rainbow run

SUPER SALE Bird pup intense yellow

Why Dogs Love Santa

On Christmas morning the dogs opened their stockings and got the greatest gifts of their lives...squirrel stuffed animals.

They spend 90% of their free time chasing "those doggone squirrels!" and will probably (hopefully) never catch a real one, so these stuffed animals basically made them the happiest little pups in the world.

Squeaky stuffed animals last about 2 seconds around Pheobe and Zeke so we were shocked when Zeke spent a good hour just holding his in his mouth. It was soaking wet and he just walked around looking sheepish...I think he was afraid Phoebe would see it was still "alive" and try to take it from him.



But Phoebe was too busy upstairs gutting her own squirrel. Pheebs may be small and cute, but she's the killer. We could just hear squeaks of death coming from my parents' room until she walked down with only the fabric skin in her mouth.

Back from Christmas

Oh, hello! I hope everyone had a great week of holidays! I went up to Shrewsbury for Christmas and had a very relaxing time and got to see a lot of family. Santa was good to me, but one of my favorite presents was my new EZcube light box for taking product photos!

I plan on using my New Year's long-weekend to recover from New Year's Eve and for taking new photos for my website.

Ok, time to watch Sound of Music. I suggest you do the same.

Perfect for My Enchanted Forest Room

My friend Leah was there when I decided that when I grow up and have a house I am going to have an "Enchanted Forest Room". It decided this while we watched an old video of Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre (we were in college at the time).

I just found this rug from Angela Adams. Mark my words, I am going to own this rug at some point in my life. I would actually like to own the whole room in this phto and all the furniture as well.



Forest Floor Rug from The Birds and The Bees Collection by Angela Adams.

DIY Links

I just did a swap in which we gathered free patterns/instructions for craft projects to 3 partners.

It was a great way to gather some new craft and DIY projects so I thought I would take some time today and post links to some simple-ish projects with instructions.

Recycled Catalogue Gift Tags


Courtesy of Peapods.Click here for complete instructions and blog post.


Gift Card Box


Courtesy of Heather Bailey. Click here for pattern download.

Paper Flower Ornaments


Courtesy of How About Orange. Click here for complete instructions.

p.s. I made these and used a glue stick instead of double-sided tape and it worked just fine. I also chose to use colored twine and fancied up some giftbags.


Recycled Cookie Tins


Courtesy of Ready Made Magazine. Click here for explanation of project.

Celeboot Diversity

So I'm back on the boot watch. I keep thinking about those FRYE Paige Cuff boots in slate. I want them and I saw them in person at Shoe Market, but ever since I got my black Sven's I haven't worn any of my other boots.



I am ready to fork over the dough for the Paige Cuff's because I know they will last forever and will be worth the investment, but do I really need them? I think of my brown Outback boots I got on Ebay or my white slouchy ones with the heel and I imagine them weeping in the darkness because they long for my ugly, but loveable feet.


I wonder if I should bring another color into the closet...


Angelina can do it, why not me?

Well, for starters, I don't have a gigantic chateau in France...

Da Bronx

Last night Abe and I went to Tanler and Molly's apartment for a holiday party. They live waaaaay far away in a land called The Bronx almost at the very end of the 6 train line. When you get off at their subway stop it is like a gigantic outdoor mall. Macy's, Gap, Starbucks and...

Imitational Baby Series



The way back to Brooklyn was not as fun. Me, Abe and Sam were too busy gabbing and missing the train. So we had to wait about 40 minutes for the next one, transfer to the V, and wait for the G. There were some full bladders, people (me) that had to get up early for work, and a whole lot of waiting. It took about 2 hours to get home.



This is what happens when I miss a train.

Mission: Jewelry Box

Almost every day I wear the original heart-shaped gold studs used to pierce my ears when I was 5, a gold and lapis necklace my parents gave me at Confirmation at the age of 14, and a silver and gold ring my mom gave me for Christmas about six years ago.



Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of other jewelry that I love, but I never have time to switch it up in the mornings. One problem is that I don't have a good jewelry box to help organize what I have. Right now I have things in like random old jewelry boxes that I got from my grandmother's closet, little cardboard boxes, and hanging from random things. I need a one-stop shop for all my family jewels.

Requirements:

• Keep necklaces tangle-free
• Keep earrings in pairs
• Lid closes and "locks" securely (I gots butter fingers)
• Large enough to fit at least 90% of my stuff
• Small enough that it fits on my dresser
• Not from a big-box store
• Modern/vintage/art deco/wood
  

Let's meet two of the finalists....


There are two of these on Ebay. Maybe I should just get a matching set?

VINTAGE LADY BUXTON JEWELRY BOX EMERALD GREEN & GOLD



VINTAGE JEWELRY/COSMETIC BLACK CARRY ALL BLACK CASE

Let it Snow!

The snowballs are falling!


Walking home.


Plows on the ready.


Mac & Cheese waiting at home.

Craftin' Up a Storm and I'm Pooped

It was a busy weekend over here and thankfully I had the foresight to take the day off from work. I'm still in my pajamas and organizing myself...and drinking coffee...but I need to get my ass in gear because from 4pm-7pm I will be at the ETSY Labs at 325 Gold Street in Brooklyn to teach a hands-on workshop on making snow globes! It's free and you're all invited!

Yesterday was the BUST Holiday Craftacular at the Manhattan Pavillion. It was a lonnnnng week getting ready, but being prepared definitely paid off especially since my table space was a lot smaller than I expected. Abe was awesome and the best helper a girl could ask for which also made things a heck of a lot easier since I kept forgetting things in the car.



The day was a success, but you know what my biggest seller was?


Crazy Cat Button Pack!

I swear, Paws is my golden ticket to a life of riches!

Dave 30th Birthday...aka The Facial Hair Party

Saturday night was Davis' 30th birthday. And well, a man only turns 30 once, so we all piled into Dave and Preeya's apartment and celebrated the day he came shooting into this world and everyone gasped because he was a baby with a gigantic mustache. Every man at the party (with the exception of 1 person) had facial hair. Tis the season.


A wardrobe of Beam. One in every style.

Preeya showed me the set she and Dave built for HEXA's next music video for their song "Molasses" (on which you can hear my bass and alto clarinet skillz). It's going to be adorable. The waves move back and forth and there is a hot air balloon that will float through the mountain tops.



Yes, that is a deer skeleton on their bed. Preeya has been putting it together since the day we excavated the bones from John Sayles' backyard in April 2005. I think Colleen has pictures of us digging up the bones, but I couldn't find the files. But I believe the location was just yonder that bridge and up that hill.


I think those bones have lived in like 4 apartments and there was the time with the ants... Anyway, what she's done is pretty incredible.

Church Goin' Folk

Last night Abe and I got into the holiday season spirit and went to St. Patrick's Cathedral for the 29th Annual "A City Singing at Christmas" concert.

I met Abe in Grand Central Terminal so we could watch the light show for a few minutes.



The concert was free and open to the public, but luckily (and the whole reason I knew about this event) my co-worker was singing in the Cathedral of St. Patrick Choir and he got us "preferred seating".



The music event featured The Cathedral of St. Patrick Choir, The Young People's Chorus of New York, The Long Island Choral Society, and the The Cathedral Organs.

Here is a shot of all singers. If you've never been to St. Patrick's Cathedral you need to make a trip there - especially for all you New Yorkers. The places is beeeeauuutiful and gigantic. I can't even estimate how many people were there - but I'm thinking like a thousand.



Let's zoom in and take a look at one of the audience members - she also had sunglasses on. I want to be her best friend.

Girlfriendz

Last night I went out to dinner with my girlfriend fam (minus Meredith, but we talked about her a lot - all good stuff of course).

First we met at Snacky's on Grand St. in Williamsburg. It was Margot's idea and a damn good one. We just sat and chatted and made plans to go to Niagra Falls in April (?). Colleen and I are the "Vacation Chairs" for that trip so the pressure's on!

Colleen also brought me a new coat! She has the same one in brown. I prefer a winter white and she knows it. The best part of the coat is the mock-3/4 length sleeves with the sweater sleeve extension. I love a sweater sleeve.



Did I tell you I got bangs? Yeah, sure did. I'm still getting used to them, but the best part so far is that it's like I have a whole new wardrobe. Everything looks different on me now.


Here's a weird picture of me that I took while driving right after I got the bangs.

Anyway, after dinner we took our asses over to Lenora's Way and had a few more beers and talked very loudly about gross things. The bar was pretty empty and a couple on a date was listening to our every word. We either helped make or break that date...verdict is still out.


Snood.

Crafts at the ETSY Labs

Come make snow globes with me!



On Monday, December 15th, I will be at the ETSY Labs in Brooklyn, NY from 4-7pm and teaching a lesson on making snow globes! You don't have to come for the whole time, but leave yourself an hour in order to complete a snow globe.

Most of the supplies will be provided - just bring a smooth, clean, label & glue-free glass jar (pickle and applesauce jars are great).

More details and directions to the ETSY Labs can be found here: ETSY Labs Craft Night

* And if you don't live in NYC don't fret! Each craft night is also broadcast live into in the Treehouse room of the Virtual Labs. All demos will be shown both in the Labs in Brooklyn and in the Treehouse online.

Custom Fabric

My next project (once the Bust Craftacular and my ETSY Craft Night are out of the way) is to print some of my own fabric. I recently learned about Spoonflower - a great new service that allows people to submit patterns, images, illustrations in order to make their own fabric!

Right now I'm working on two peices. The one I'm calling "Desert" (working title, people. Don't judge the generic) is below ... eventually I'll have the whole sheet filled with different cactus plants.

Techie Time

I've been fooling around with my blog layout to make a little more room. I found another blog that offers lots of help in modifying Blogger layouts.

I highly recommend referring to this resource if you use Blogger and want to make changes to the standard Blogger templates. Very helpful.

Click here to visit the Tips for New Bloggers blog.

More Tees Please

I am a t-shirt printing machine. I wonder if Paws will sue me for using his likeness...good thing he is too busy crying for more food to notice.


I dread having to stamping the labels. So not fun.





It's close quarters up in this piece.


Gangstah cats.


Stack o' tees

Family & Friends

My 2ooth post!

I haven't done much in the last week except hang out with the fam and Shrewsbury friends for Thanksgiving.


Eddie turned into a turkey maniac when he got his hands on the drumstick.

My friends and I have kind of outgrown the whole tradition of "going out to the Worcester bars to see everyone". I mean, it's not really necessary with Facebook, right?

But I did have a mini-reunion with my long-term Shrewsbury circle of friends on Friday night at David and Brittany's house. Brit was out of town and Dave was staying home while their daughter slept, but that didn't stop us from Zazzing it up.



On Saturday baby-sitters were lined up and we headed out for the big, bad Canal District in Worcester. Allyson and Shana drove in from Boston, which was super awesome.

For the past couple weeks we have been babysitting Junior. He's a good little guy. I like to scare Paws with him. You'd think it would work the other way around and a little pipsqueak hamster would freak out at the sight of a 30 lb tiger cub.

And the Winner Is......

November's Contest winner has been announced! My random number generator has picked number...



Congratulations to Heather B. from Oakdale, CT.

Heather is the lucky winner of a camouflage El Sloucho bag


Heather is also a new aunt!! Congrats to the whole family - the baby is freaking cute. Let's help continue Heather's luck by voting for her pup, Rudy over at the Purina/Marley & Me contest.

Don't forget to sign up for my mailing list to be entered in December's contest. Prize will be a dish towel...