I feel like I've expanded to about three times my usual size after Thanksgiving.

Monica made 6 different pies for our feast. 6!

Guys, I can't even handle thinking about all that I ate. I'm spending the rest of this week on a treadmill....

TWO MONTHS?!!?

Seriously, I've been gone TWO MONTHS?!?!?!

Holy crap.

Well, I guess I got some splaining. Here goes.

First things first: The computer died. Completely. I'd had trouble with it, then I had trouble with the internet... or so I thought. It was the wireless card. And then the video card died. And then the MOTHERBOARD died. It was just one right after the other. So there went my outlet to the world.

Then: I GOT A BOYFRIEND. Ahh, the typical excuse. Yes, I am just like a million junior high girls who ignore homework and friends in favor of a boy. I am twelve.

And then: I left my retail manager job. I am now working in a production studio, logging videos, and performing "assistant" duties. It's pretty sweet. I work with some great guys.

Theeeeeen: I got a second boyfriend. See how sexy??


That's about it. You're up to date. I am a ridiculous person. I actually had not even checked my primary email account for almost a month. Life is winding down and becoming more..... well, not managable. Calm, I guess. :)

So how are you?

~wishlist~

I've been in a dreamy state lately... as usual, lots of stuff to stress out about. But I decided, "screw it! i'm gonna be ZEN for a change!" and have just tried my best not to let things bother me.

It worked... for awhile.

Now, I just want to try some retail therapy!

There are just a few little things I want. Please... just humor me. ;)


Grand Holiday Dress - Anthropologie


Light On Water Halter - Anthropologie


Scoop Back Chair in Yellow - West Elm (my bedroom is like, all gray; i want this yellow chair so it just POPS!)


Tess Skimmer by Frye - Zappos

Phew. There. I seriously doubt I'll buy any of it.... except.... well, maybe the chair. But window shopping is always helpful!

back! life and blogs and stuff

Aha! I'm back!

Chicago was AH-mazing.

Um. You know, if you ignore the weather. I'm back in good ol mild Oakland. It was wonderful to scarf some pizza and see some friends though. Back to the daily grind at work here. Boo, hiss...

I want to get back in the swing and have a new featured shop; that's a fun endeavor. A lot of people coordinate and do giveaways... which.... that seems really interesting, and I like the idea, I just don't know what to do. Would anyone reading this be interested in hooking up on a joint venture? :)

Meanwhile, I will go troll the etsy forums looking for a new shop for the blog. I probably should do an illustrator or something, just to deviate from the jewelry kick I've been on. :)

I'm in Chicago! Visiting my friend, eating some pizza.... and so on and so forth.

I can't even begin to tell you how relieved I am to have time off.

Doods.


For shizzle.


:)

Featured Etsy Shop - ErinBowe

Without much further ado, I present to you this week's Featured Etsy Shop! It's ErinBowe.etsy.com, a jewelry shop focused on traditional metalsmithing techniques. I sent Erin some questions and she had some pretty spiffy answers. Read on!





Here is some rambling in answer to your questions:
So, tell us about yourself. Metalsmithing is my life right now – a full-time job. And oh yeah, I have another full-time job during the day too. I don’t ever have “free time” to just relax, but I don’t really need it because sawing and soldering is what relaxes me anyway! If winter ever ends, I’ll get outside to rearrange my perennial gardens – it’s like art on a really large scale.



How long have you been running your etsy shop?I registered on Etsy last October, but I didn’t start listing items until early December. I also just set up a second shop for handmade supplies and other findings – FundamentalFragments.etsy.com.

What is it that really turned you onto metalsmithing in the first place?I actually started working with metal to give myself an outlet where I didn’t have to be perfect. Well, that didn’t quite work out as planned, but now I’ve found “my” medium.



Tell us about your studio; it sounds very interesting from the mention on your profile.
My studio….well, my house is about 120 years old, and we have a nice fieldstone basement. The original owners of the house had built a little room down there, making the walls from long planks of wood. The door was trimmed with wood detail that was also on the pie-safe that had been left in the house. A massive old workbench and tools were also in the house when we moved in. So, now this space is my studio, and I even use some of the tools that were left here.

What is it that gets you in the mood to create? Do you have anything habits or rituals to get yourself inspired to work? I’m in the mood to create 24/7! Most of my inspiration comes from every-day things, especially nature and architecture. I do get even more motivated when listening to music though. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds often keep me company.



And be sure to check out her links:

http://erinbowe.blogspot.com
http://www.twitter.com/erinbowe
http://www.flickr.com/photos/erinbowe/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1663811690&ref=profile

Thanks, Erin!

Okay, so... this is totally adorable. Saw it on the etsy front page.

Happy Valentine's Day....

I just found this.




I don't understand... but I love it.

Gingerbread Russian Authors??

I just saw this on Craftster



Just some girl brought in cookies to her professor. With..... Russian literature greats drawn on them with icing. Pretty amazing; I wish I could wield a frosting tube that deftly!!

Etsy Featured Shop - Unoriginal Sinner

And here it is, the return of my Featured Etsy Shop.... Feature! This week, it's unoriginalsinner.etsy.com, a jewelry shop definitely worth checking out!



So introduce yourself to us! I'm in Louisville KY, a recently graduated art student just enjoying the school-free life at the moment. I'm into any kind of art i can get my hands on- photography, ink drawing, painting, even modeling. Jewelry making is actually my most recent artistic endeavor but something I've really jumped into. I like elegance with an edge; anything that is beautiful but also kind of creepy or dark is a go!


Skull and Crossbones Steampunk Necklace - $20

How long have you been running your etsy shop? I started on etsy last summer but didn't really do much in the way of promotion; I really got into it around this past Christmas when I discovered all the wonderful supply shops on etsy and the inspiration just took off!


Winged Yellow Rose Necklace - $12

What really turned you on to making jewelry in the first place? As a kid my aunt was a jewelry maker and general crafter and I would spend hours playing with her supplies. I inherited her collection when she passed and I still put something of hers in to almost everything I do.

Do you have a special workspace or studio where you do all your work, or are you more scattered, working all over the place? I think people's workspaces are interesting. Right now I have a little space on the corner of the couch where I flip open my supply case and spread out on the side table while the boyfriend plays video games :) I just moved into the place, so I'm hoping as things get more organized that I can claim a little table space of my own.


Steampunk Swallow Necklace - $14

A pic of the seller herself!

photo - vintage doll studios 2008


Thanks to Unoriginal Sinner! Be sure to check out her shop. Check in next week for the next featured shop!

Pretty neat-

VedaArts.etsy.com

Found this last night.... I really like her shop!


--


So is the economy just sucking for everyone else? I was beginning to think my store wouldn't really have a problem... and then.... it had a problem. Missing goals by a LOT. It's disheartening to me and my co-manager because our DM told us on Friday that the cut-backs on hours won't be enough. Someone will have to go. I know he and I are safe but that doesn't do much for my mood. I like all of the people I work with! I already feel so crappy for cutting their hours down. I'd work less myself but I'm salaried. Doesn't make much difference.

Sigh.

Things may turn around though; I do hope so.

I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts.... I want to try stenciling.... TRY to get crafty with my bad self. I have some vinyl & some leather stuff (furniture/bags) and I wanted to doctor them up.

Does anyone know of a good waterproof ink? Or can I just get a stencil and some spray paint?

Idiotarod '09 nyc

Ha!

♥ Valentine's Day Picks! ♥

So, you basically have 20 days to do your Valentine's Day shopping. And so what if it's a manufactured holiday? Chances are SOMEONE you know likes to receive a gift, no matter what the day! Boyfriend, girlfriend, BFF, Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, the mailman, your local friendly barista, whoever! People like to receive. It's a fact. Gifts are fun.

So, like I had been promising, here's my Valentine's Day items... I had people convo me on Etsy, and found a few things myself, and here they are.

Ch-ch-check 'em out!




Mshalston.etsy.com
An inventive map of Boston-turned-anatomical heart! $2.50


HeartSpace.etsy.com
A dainty glass Valentine heart necklace ~ $15.00


blockpartypress.etsy.com
"What's In Your Heart" anatomical ring ~ $25.00


Enthral.etsy.com
enthral-enthral.blogspot.com/
A copper heart & vintage flower necklace! $22.00


ptitebaloue.etsy.com
A handmade cuddly teddy bear to keep you warm at night... $70.00


All of the shops are great! I encourage you to check the rest of their wares out! Thanks to those involved, and Happy Valentine's Day (early)!

Tattoo Masterpieces!

Holy moly, I just found this on Trend Hunter....

Check that out-



THAT. Is beautiful! No matter your stance on body art, you gotta agree, that's a beautiful illustration, as it were.

Look at this! It looks like a bookplate, seriously....


They are tattoos from a Bay Area artist at a studio in Oakland! I had heard of them before; I know they do good work.... Diving Swallow. Not that I could ever have the guts to get a tattoo. But I <3 looking at them

Valentine's Stuff/Weekly Feature

I'm doing a special Valentine's Day Feature on Monday, and I keep finding a lot of great stuff! People are convo-ing me on etsy, of course, but I also keep randomly stumbling upon things too.

I'm also going to go back to featuring an etsy seller on Wednesday after a ten million year hiatus. I love that I just got one shop down before I got sick and disappeared.

Project Wonderful

I wonder-- I don't have an etsy shop or online store, so I haven't made an ad to drive traffic to one of them. But, I wonder how Project Wonderful ads are working out for most sellers/bloggers/etc. I definitely have a loooot of bids on the adspace (it is free, of course). But in general, I wonder how effective it is; do people see sales from them?

Site Of the Day: Trend Hunter

So, I'm back in business.

Clearly you know you're running on empty when you have to take time off from your computer.

I'm so in the wrong business! Retail management is not for me... I've worn myself down between all the long hours and the stress and the being sick and not giving myself enough time to get over it... and so on. SO not a big deal, but it's high time I just take it down a notch, so I don't get the darn flu next time.

Anyway!

This is a website I started watching and joined not long ago-- Trend Hunter. It's just interesting, it depends on 20,000+ members to feed it new trends, things that are captivating people's interests... maybe you already know this! I am always the last to catch on. :P


So, I saw this on the front page just a bit ago and it grabbed my attention, because anyone who knows me can tell ya, my number one dream would be to have pink hair. I think it comes from watching 'Jem' as a kid.


So. Cool. Love it!

double - yoo - tee - eff

I was gonna do a feature yesterday but guess who got sick! Again! For what, the fourth time in 2 months? I am a walking germ magnet. Lame.

I guess it won't be an EVERY Wednesday thing, eh?

Do I ever leave the store? Seriously, I feel like I wake up and go to sleep in the furnishings department.

One bonus is that inventory is over. We "hired" outside help... by "hired" I mean posted an ad on Craigslist and had a slew of college kids show up for a few hours of work at a measly hourly rate. But it got it done and I didn't have to stay at the store later than midnight more than once.

So, I'm kicking back on my day off.... idly playing on websites, half-heartedly planning on baking cookies or going to Ikea.

Am I the last person to know about this site, Sea of Shoes? It's this teenage-looking girl posting photos of shoes. She's a little fashion maven. It's simultaneously envy-inspiring and just gross. Some of that stuff costs more than a month's rent in my apartment.



I could neeeever wear those. Louboutins, for crying out loud! Do they really exist outside of the world in 'Sex in the City'? People wear them?

All the same, it's a fun blog. I do like looking at fashion photos even if I get jealous or annoyed by the pricetag that accompanies materialism...



See? Fun to look at. Mostly because the pants are LOL worthy, but hey, fun.

Etsy Featured Shop - Makeshift Apparel

Every Wednesday I'm going to be featuring a different etsy shop. The first one up is DIY/screenprinting shop makeshiftapparel.etsy.com! I sent a few questions to Amanda, and she was nice enough to answer them. Behold!





1. Tell us about yourself-- who's the brains behind Makeshift Apparel?
My name is Amanda Weselman, I'm 20 years old but I'll be 21 on January 27th. I'm from Gilbert, Arizona. I love sewing, tattoos, and I play guitar. My favorite kind of music is thrash metal.



2. How long have you been running your business? How long have you been screenprinting or sewing?
I've been running Makeshift Apparel since May 2008. I learned how to screenprint about three years ago using the Speedball Screenprinting kit and then I got a job at a screenprinting shop where I learned a lot more about it. I started sewing in junior high just by hand, and then I got a sewing machine and eventually took some classes.

3. Makeshift's shop description mentions being environmentally friendly-- what does this entail?
Recycling fabrics and reconstructing clothes that may have ended up in a landfill into something new.



4. Work spaces and studios are always interesting to me... Do you have a special workspace or studio where you do all your work, or are you more scattered, working all over the place?
I work mostly on my dining room table, haha. Hopefully someday I'll be able to get a studio.



5. Between screenprinting and reconstructions, do you have a preference? What do you like to do more?
I enjoy sewing more than screenprinting, I love making unique clothing.


---

Be sure to find Makeshift Apparel on Myspace!

So I've been talking to the owner of a really great little etsy shop to be featured on the blog in the next few days.... I hope/plan to make this a weekly feature. A step or two further from just randomly finding something neato mosquito on etsy and posting it... which is cool too! But now I'mma be all talkin' to the seller and finding out a bit more about them and the items.



...It's hard to focus on this blog and watch a dvd simultaneously... so... gots to go!

I guess I spoke too soon! Yeah, I've been so so sooo busy since my last post. I've barely cracked open my laptop much less logged into blogger. Blah.

In other news, I'm going to definitely move ahead with my etsy seller feature on here... and I just got a Project Wonderful publisher account. That's a pretty neat site, I've been reading about it here and there; it seems like a great tool.