Thursday, September 27, 2007

Where the Magic Happens

I really did batik yesterday! Maybe not as much as I would've liked to, but whatevs. I made a dent in the ole' pile of silk. First I had to cleanup the basement, and here's what it looked like AFTER I cleaned it:
Studio
As you can see, I have extremely high standards in regard to the conditions I will work in.
And here's a close up of the batik area:
What it looks like where I Batik
I don't know if you can tell, but the leaf design is painted on in wax...I had dyed the silk a nice avocado and let it dry before waxing. So, now where the design is will stay green, and I think I'll dye the background Havana brown; it's the best brown. Anywho, I guess I should get ready for my job now!
Outtie,
Mich

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Go Shopping

It's fall today! My toes are cold, and I love that feeling. I made my way down to the basement today to start batiking. I've got about 10 scarves left on my rack, and my public has needs! But alas, I made it through three designs before relenting to the coziness that is my couch. I might get back to work today, there's still time...
So, I leave you with some of current Etsy favorites..throw on a lap blanket and a chunky cable knit sweater and get shopping. If you want to.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

I know it's September....

...but I just can't help but post these new holiday cards I made up. And it's not in the name of capitalism. It's just because I'm really excited about how classy they turned out. Alas, if I walked into target right now and saw Christmas cards, I'd be all "oh brother, it's not even Halloween yet, for Pete's sake. What a world!" (In case you're wondering, I really do talk like a cantankerous old lady).
New Holiday Cards!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Cat Days of Fall

My Large Orange Cat
I am feeling at one with my cats today. I've been leisurely draping myself on furniture all day long. It's great. Sure, I should be setting my studio up for batik, but I don't often feel 100% OK about doing nothing, and today I do, so I'm going for it.
No flash photography...please.
I did go to a lovely workshop last night, though. My new job actually requires me to go to crafty workshops. Best rule ever! Anywho, the class was on altered books, which I've never really worked with before. So, I learned some interesting techniques using the magic of PVA and a little MacGuyver-style sewing.
The coolest part was transferring images from a xerox copy. I had only done it using xylene, which is very stinky and oxygen-stealing substance. The teacher of this workshop used citrasolv, which smells much better and works quite well. It's a biodegradable de-greaser, and you can get it at nature-friendly grocery stores. Here's link to a write-up that explains it better than I could (thinner or xylene should be replaced with citrasolv).
solvent transfers
OK, I need to go lay in a sunny spot now.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

I'm in!


midtown global market, originally uploaded by minasodaboy.

Oh, goody, I get to be in this year's no-coast craft-o-rama! It takes place in the Midtown Global Market, shown in the photo above (from someone on flickr, thank you flickr person). You'll find a handy link to this super holiday craft fair on the right hand side of my page somewhere.

In addition, to this exciting news, I managed to acquire myself a job. It's pretty awesome, I get to sell really nice paper! So, yeah, I have to go to bed now, because I have to go to work in the morning.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Rummage Sale Saturday





Unlike many a fall Saturday, in which I peruse sales and wares at a leisurely pace, today I was the salee and not the saler. It was a lovely day for sitting in the front yard...that is for the first couple hours, until I started to feel sleepy and hungry. But it was all worth while when a girl the same size as me found so much clothing she had to go to the atm. And, when someone paid fifteen dollars for the horrendous tie-dye quilt I made in a beginning surface design class (it was a required assignment, OK?). So, about $150 dollars later, I had less crap to put in the garage, which was nice.
On a side note, I was telling some friends last night about my "rummage sale," a common term, I thought. But they preferred "garage" or "yard" or "estate" to my rummage. I mean it makes a lot more sense to me to go "rummaging" than to go "garaging" or "yarding." Anyways, shame on them for scoffing "rummage." It's a proud namesake.
I have no pictures to support today's paragraphs, and so, I'm posting some photos of the baptism invitations I made last week for custom orders. They turned out very precious, I think, and I don't use that word lightly.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

I have needs.

So moving home is nice...all my stuff is here...but moving really makes me want to redecorate. I'm dying to replace my cat-scratched couch with this one from urban outfitters:
This couch is from urban outfitters, I blogged about it.
Click hereAntoinette Fainting Sofa

You just have me all figured out, don't you Urban Outfitters?
In other news, yesterday, I went on an 8 mile bike ride with my husband (yes, I'm counting). It was really hot. I am not very sporty. And so when I think of heat, I think of cold, and when it finally gets cold, I really want these sweet cabled fingerless mittens:
These gloves are from shunklies.etsy.com, I blogged about it.
Click herefrom shunklies.etsy.com

and to go with them, creating an ever-so casual combination of textures and colors this brilliant scarf:
This scarf is from syish.etsy.com, I blogged about it.
Click herefrom syish.etsy.com

But alas, it's still 84 degrees, so I must instead swaddle myself in a really wrong tank top and go run some errands.