Happy Halloween

No Jabberwockies were hurt in the making of this picture except a few bags of gummies had to be sacrificed to keep the peace. 

Happy Halloween everyone! 

I hope every has had a good holiday so far! The kiddo had a halloween party at her daycare (we call it school at home) and went as Alice from Wonderland. I cannot believe the haul of candy that was given to her from school! My husband and I will be testing it for "poison" later this evening after she's gone to bed - i.e. eating it ourselves. 

My own candy testing duties won't happen until later this evening since I will be in class this evening until 9 pm but hopefully we'll get out early. 

Anyways its time for dinner before the candy-ocolypse begins. 

Chicago Style

The dear husband had to go to Chicago for work for a few days and he returned this evening with this lovely gift of Chicago Style Pizza. There were originally three slices of this wonderful deep dish delight but I've already eaten one. 

I'm so stuffed. 

Once Upon a Time

I've been obsessed with the show Once Upon a Time since it first showed up on Netflix a few weeks ago. I was a fan of disney movies as a kid and the new take on Disney princesses and other characters is absolutely fantastic and so much more of a story line I can love. 

So I've started to make some small pieces based upon the show.

Mr. Gold's Gift.
When Rumpelstiltskin turned Gaston into the rose when he tried to rescue Bell.
(I've love the goldish tint of his skin .)

The Queen's Heart.
Mayor, Queen, Mother with the best intentions. The queen is possibly one of the most complex characters in the show and I wanted to reflect her heart and how it's been twisted by the best intentions.

Since the story line is so complex and elegant I wanted to make more sophisticated pieces that reflect the show.
Expect these pieces to show up in the store soon so check back often.

Dragon's Fire Enameled Necklaces

One year ago I took my first course in small metals and I fell in love with the process of enameling copper. It's actually a really simple process but it takes time to complete and clean all of the metal. I sell these pieces across Memphis at a few different shops and they look like dragon's fire when if you do your enameling correctly. 

Thus I present to you - Dragon's Fire. 

Find them in the shop now for only $8 + shipping and handling. 

Around the House

Around the house with my entry way and studio mate Enid the anti-social fat cat plus a ton of work covering my work area. 

Adventures in cookie making

During the weekend I try to do something interesting with the kid and this weekend was her first adventure in cookie making with my Mom at her house.I really wanted to make Halloween cookies so she could take with her to 'school' (daycare but its actually more structured then your average daycare) this week for her class' Halloween party in addition to the fruit tray I'm providing. Anyways, after much  sampling of cookie dough and the kid practicing her cookie cutter abilities we ended up with almost 2 dozen cookies. It was a pretty good haul for a toddler's first foray into cookie making. My mom and I can't wait for the winter holidays to start to do it again with her. 

Thriftiness Adventures

Reading,Writing, Letters, Math, and Crafting books for my classroom and for teaching the kid. Most these books came from bargain barn side of the largest  goodwill in town where they sell items for less then $2 in the entire store area. I got these books for only 50 cents each. 

Mo' has been responding the best to board books as well as books made mostly of photographs and I found a nice haul of them today in the regular goodwill store.

I seriously wish this was in my size and not a 2t for the kid. It's the perfect magical girl sweat shirt. 

 I spend the majority of my time shopping at thrift stores because being a teacher and a parent I have to stretch every dollar. I lucked out with my most recent thrift finds with some great instructional books for teaching lower level students and even though I teach art I have to incorporate reading,math, science, and writing into my curriculum every chance I get.  I also picked up some new story books and clothes for the kiddo. (Keeping up with clothes that fit a growing toddler is a daunting task)

Bag Lady

I admit it. I have a bag addiction. I own several different kinds of bag, purses, and wallets and I always end up killing a number of them along the way as a result of the abuse I put them through on a day to day basis. Back in 2005 I started to make my own pouches to keep my undergraduate art major bag of tricks organized since I had to carry so much junk with me back then for various classes. Not soon as I made my first bags for my self my oldest cousin (20+ years older then me) and my mom's friends began to want them and then I began to sell them every year at different holiday shows which has proved to quite rewarding. 

My latest foray into bag making has evolved over the year. I first began by hand-stitching every bag with whatever material I could get my hands on at the moment. Every bag was different and then I got my sewing machine and I began to develop a pattern to use for each and every bag. It made the product more uniform and I switched from buttons to velcro. I am now going from velcro to zippers with my newest bags and finding wonderfully new and nerdy fabrics to make them for the up coming shows I'm attending this season with these awesome industrial feeling zippers on them. Hopefully they will make the impact my usual work does this time of year. 

When I am not trying to take over the world....

...my daughter is trying to squish my cat Starbuck into lovable piles of goo. 

I know, I post a lot about the kid and the cat but they're just so funny together. 

By the way I have another cat but she's an anti-social fat cat who only loves me and when I am alone. 

Yes, I named my cat Starbuck (the one being squished by the kid) from Battlestar Galactica. 

The anti-social one is named Enid from Ghost World. 

(All four of my pets have names from various scifi/fantasy shows or comic books)

Sailor Moon on my Fingers!

I have an obsession with making crazy little things out of polymer clay when the mood strike me. My latest incarnation are these sailor moon brooch rings. The top one is from the original manga's first few issues and the second is based from the show. I am happy with how the manga version came out with the bow since I didn't accidently burn it like I do so many other poly clay things when I'm not distracted.

A cosplay staple

I have always considered the sailor fuku, or japanese school girl sailor uniform to be a staple for any girl's costume closet. Its quick, easy, and comfortable when you are stomping around a convention. Until recently I always made the whole thing but I just started to make the collars only and thus I came up with the Insta-fuku to attach to a t-shirt and you can either get a skirt to match or wear it with jeans. I  use velcro so  you can take it on and off pretty quickly since most of them need to be a certain width around the neck to look right.

I've got a couple of them set up in the shop at the moment for only $10 + shipping and handling so check them out!

Retooling - Restyling

 I recently ran out of business cards and with the amount of work I do as a small business owner, graduate student, art teacher, mother, and wife I've had to finally realize I can't spend hours designing new promotional materials for myself and had to turn to vista print for help. I've used vista print since I was a freshman in college to promote myself in various ways and they've always been a good company to me. New designs meant a new retooling of the shop but since I've been trying to make the shop appeal to a wider market I went for the shop's poppy and skull design. Its a good balance of whimsy, dark, and sophistication. Now I need to go create, do inventory, and get ready for the first show of the season.

NOM NOM NOM Jewelry

I've been trying my hand at food jewelry over the past few months. I've mostly just stuck to pretzels, donuts, and ice cream which have been influenced by one of my favorite crocheters Twinkie Chan and her fabulous food art. (I am seriously in love with her bright colors and absurdly cute designs)

I made all of the pieces out of pluffy polymer clay which is nice and light compared to the brands out there for crafters. You just have to be very careful when baking it since it can burn very easily but when it turns out well they look fabulous with the brightly color aluminum chain I have paired with each pendant.  

Though personally I love the clay that turns into a useable eraser when baked in the classroom since you can gives students a chance to create a functional piece of art. 

I need to reshoot the majority of the pieces for the shop so expect some foodie jewelry coming to the shop within the week. 

Up Coming Shows for Fall/Winter 2012 - 2013

Doctor WHO inspired necklace

This is my busiest season I've had in years with up coming shows and  events I'm participating in with my wares. This fall/winter season alone I've got four shows already lined up and here are there locations and dates in case you plan on dropping by the Memphis TN area during the next few months.

Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention - November 9th - 11th

Memphis College of Art's Holiday Bazaar - November 16th - 17th

Indie Style Market Pop Up Shop - December 6th - December 23rd

Anime Blues Con Winterfest Remix - January 19th

In addition to all of the shows I'm in this season I'm also found at four different store fronts in the Mid-South Area but that's another post for another day. The kiddo has worn me out this weekend with all of the potty training I did with her and I barely feel like doing anything at home or even going to the gym. Getting some coffee now to shake off the weekend's haze. 

Adventures in Parenting

If I've not made it clear in the last post that I am a parent then this picture is definitively all the proof you need. I caught my daughter on top f the kitchen table when I heard a noise and looked up to find her sitting there next to one of our cats. ( I love the smug look on her little toddler face) I'm guessing she was trying to get the kitty since this particular one is the one she loves to hold down and love on whenever the cat is in the proximity.

Anyways, this is a nice off week for me in terms of school work so expect some new items in my shop and new crafts popping up if time allows.

Ponies and Tables

I've been working on making my daughter's room into something more appropriate for a toddler. We were going with a more montessori style for awhile with a mattress on the floor and easy to access toys. Our home's floors getting very cold during the winter we needed to get her off the floor with a new bed and this wonderful set of My Little Pony bed sheets.

I really love these sheets and quality is much better then I expected for toddler bedding. 

Super Thrift find! I found this little table at the local GoodWill for only $10 even if it is Disney, its not overtly pink and much subtle in color. 

In the middle of all the action my kiddo made her pones migrate into the bathroom. 

This was our Friday.Tabl

Motivation, Pocky, and Cross Eyed Unicorn Girls

When things get stressful all I need to do is look at my desk and see my motivational doodle I've drawn on my desk while I eat peanut butter pocky and draw cross eyed unicorn girls.