OMG

OMG.

OMG.

The new issue of Lonny is here, and...I have no words. It's...amazing. My heart was seriously pounding while I was reading it. It was that good. The only thing that detracted from the whole experience was the typos, but I am a grammar and spelling nazi-type, so it probably won't bother most people.

Here's a teaser:

It's designer Vanessa DeVargas's bedroom. DY-ING. Inside. By the way, she shops at JCPenney. WTF? Don't get me wrong, that's freaking awesome, but since when did JCP get cute home stuff? I guess I need to hit them up. When I get some money. Which will probably not be anytime soon.

I just wanted to share because I love Lonny, and I'm so excited that their new issue is out! Go now and read it! Here's another link: Lonny. Go now!

Merci beaucoup!

...to simplysuzula for including me in her stunning treasury! I want to buy everything in it! Click here to see all the gorgeousness.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!!

UPDATE: Here is a screen shot of the Treasury!

Whoopsy-daisy!

Once again, time has slipped by and I haven't posted! I've been relaxing and enjoying my freedom from homework and lesson plans...I haven't even been making jewelry! And it's been fabulous. If there is one thing I love, it is relaxing (or being lazy, as Nick would say). I don't really have any fun updates...just a new header for the holidays! I've been working on some new branding, so you might notice I've used different fonts. It's still a work in progress, but I like it better thus far.

I was looking for a pretty lace ornament-type thing to put on some of my branding items, and couldn't find anything that was 1. free (cost-free and copyright-free), and 2. cute. So, I made my own. I thought other people might want enjoy it as well, so I've included it in this post! It's a free, printable, vintage doily! I used the mustard-ish color you see here, but feel free to change the color to anything you want! If you use it, just link me so I can see what awesomeness you've created with it!


Here's a link for the PDF download.

I don't think I have any other news as of right now. Still no job, but I honestly haven't been looking! When school starts up again after the break I'm going to send my resume to a couple of schools and see if I can get an interview.

This was a lame update, but I hope you can use the doily!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

And I don't mean Christmas. Don't get me wrong, Christmas is awesome, there's no doubt. BUT this year, the most wonderful time is now because I am DONE with student teaching and have turned in anything and everything that has to do with student teaching. I spent 6 hours at Converse on Monday, filling out forms, submitting my ADEPT Portfolio, and other paperwork stuff, and now I can say I AM FINALLY FREE!!!!

To celebrate, I'm going to make some jewelry! But first, I wanted to show you our itty bitty Christmas trees. Nick is not impressed, but WHATEVER they are awesome! See for yourself:

Here's a closeup of the fabulous bowl of all-pink ornaments:

Also, head on over to Design Gal's blog for the 11th day of her 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway! I am the featured seller for the giveaway, so you can comment and enter to win a pair of lovely earrings by yours truly!

Tomorrow, you can see me in person at Mia Alexander Salon for their Christmas Open House! I'll be there with a table full of hawleywood gorgeousness that has NEVER BEEN SEEN!! Not on Etsy, not here, not anywhere but my studio (aka, the crap room)!

So, come out Saturday, December 12th from 12-4 for food, wine, lovely salon and spa gift cards, and jewelry!

Adios!

FREE SHIPPING and some other things

I have extended free shipping in both shops until Sunday, December 13, 2009, so head over and stock up! I've been making some new things and posting them slowly but surely. Also, check out my new shop headers! Special for the holidays:

Also, I am participating in Design Gal's 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!! From now until December 12, Shan will be giving away one AWESOME thing every day, so be sure to check in!

I think that's all the updates I've got right now, but I should be back with a real blog post soon!

Love and other indoor sports,
Jess

Oops!

It seems I've been absent from the blogosphere longer than I planned! I just got back last night from a whirlwind trip to Philly for one of my friend Joan's fabulous parties. I was Leslie Hall from Leslie and the LYs, per Joan's request. Here's my favorite picture from the night:

Yes, that's me, and no, I'm not wearing a prosthetic butt. That's au natural, baby. I got so drunk I kept doing karate kicks and yelling, "GOLD LEGGINS!!" in a high-pitched voice at the top of my lungs. It was amazing, but I played the please-God-I-don't-wanna-puke game the next morning until I got to the airport and had to sprint to catch my flight. If exercise is the cure for a hangover I think I've just found a reason to exercise. Because clearly my health, looks, and clothes fitting aren't cutting it (see above picture).

I also bought some AWESOME fabric from my favorite store ever, Cloth & Bobbin in Narberth, PA. If I wasn't so lazy I would totally take a picture and post it here. Maybe I'll get unlazy later, but probably not. My throat hurts and I'm tired, so I'll probably just lay here in front of the fire that Nick built until I fall asleep. Good times.

I've been lazily making more jewelry, but I'm waiting on a supply order, so I'm kind of stuck until it gets here, but I am thinking of some fabulous baubles to make! In the meantime, I've been working on some felt bracelets and headbands. I'll hopefully post those sometime this week. As always, feedback is appreciated greatly! I'll post more when I've got something else interesting to say. Until then, just know that my life = student teaching, sleeping, church stuff, and making jewelry. So that's about it.

Holler!!

Just a quick note

...to say hello! I'm still around--my ear infection is much better, and I've had naps for the past two days so I'm feeling fabulous! I just wanted to post some pictures of the necklaces I just made. I'm not sure if they'll make it to my Etsy shop, since I'm selling at Mia Alexander Salon also, so I wanted to show them off here!

Enjoy...

Winner winner, chicken dinner!!

Congratulations, Linda and Think Chic Designs for winning the giveaway over at Design Gal's blog! Linda won the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil necklace, and Think Chic Designs won the Quiet Bird print.

Ladies, if you will email your addresses to shophawleywood{at}gmaildotcom I will send your lovelies on their merry way!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway and for all the kind words about my shops, hawleywood and Tin Oiseau.

I'm down with a mean ear infection right now, but I'll be back soon with some new baubles and doo-dads, as well as some more random musings and crazy rants.

Cooter out!

Giveaway!

Check out Design Gal's blog for the deets!!

Thank you!!

Thanks to all of you, I won the SC Etsy Street Team's September Creative Challenge!! I will be featured on the TeamSC blog for a month, and you can find an interview with me there starting Friday!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

September Creative Challenge - Please vote for me!!

The contest ends today, and as of right now, my earrings are in the lead with only 2 votes between me and the next person!! Please help my Migration Earrings win the challenge! One or two votes could make the difference!! Here is the link: http://bit.ly/DSGp4. Just scroll down and select Hawleywood-Migration Earrings from the drop-down menu and click Vote. That's it!

Thank you!!

Vote for me!

Please take a moment to vote for my Migration Earrings in the SC Etsy Street Team's September Creative Challenge! Here's the link: http://bit.ly/DSGp4. The earrings feature honey-gold aventurine coin beads and brass birds in flight.

Thank you for the kind words and sympathy for our loss--Kevin the kitten is sorely missed!! We are thankful that we still have two sweet kittens left from the litter, and they seem to be flourishing. I don't really have much more news, except that I bought two yards of fabric from Tonic Living!!! You're jealous, I know. I finally found the PERFECT fabric for the mid-century mod chairs. I'll take pics when it comes in. SO excited!!

Funny quotes from kids in my kindergarten class today:

Gracie, after getting up from Rest & Read: "Whatcha doin', Mrs. Sharky?" (Imagine this being said with a lisp. Too cute.)

Keniya, while talking about safety: "If you can have a fire in your house the alarm clock can smell it!"

I love kindergarten.

Happy almost-Friday, everyone!!

I have to make this quick

Because Nick is harassing me to get the laptop, but I wanted to share two things: 1. An awesome, awesome new blog I found: In the Fun Lane. You must go there immediately and be amazed by Holly's talent, creativity, and super-cool aesthetic. 2. From In the Fun Lane, I found an A-MAZING new fabric store obsession: Tonic Living. You MUST go there!!

That is all. Relinquishing the laptop to hubby in 3...2...1....GAH!!!!

RIP Kevin

This post is in honor of Kevin the kitten, who died today. He died in his sleep, but I don't know why or exactly when. He was sleeping on the kittens' favorite blanket today when I got home, and when I moved the blanket, he was limp. I picked him up and his eyes were open and he was completely limp, but still warm. I tried to give him CPR, and when I pushed his chest there was a kind of slurping sound, so I think he might have had fluid in his lungs or something. His nose turned pink again when I was giving him rescue breaths, but he didn't start breathing on his own. Poor Kevin. He was Nick's favorite, and he was the runt. I love runts. And Kevin. He was a beautiful orange tabby, and not even two months old--way too young to die. I'm going to take the other kittens to the vet tomorrow (or Monday) and get them checked out because I don't want Tortoise or Onomatopoeia to die too! I have the major sads. We're going to bury Kevin in the back yard when Nick gets home from work.

Rest in peace, Kevin. We loved you.

I have a Fan Page!

So I finally figured out how to create a Fan Page on Facebook. Yes, I am slow. You can find a link to it at the bottom of this page. Please join, even if you think my jewelry's crap and you hate my face...it looks so lonely with no fans!!

Sorry I've been absent--I started student teaching last week, so I've been pretty busy with that. I am in a Kindergarten class, and I love, love, love it! The kids are adorable! One little girl thought my name was Mrs. Shark, which was hilarious (it's Sharp). Nick thought that was awesome. Another little girl related everything to cupcakes. As in, "___, can you tell me another word that starts with /ch/?" Little girl: "Cupcake?" And later, "____, what is your favorite fruit?" Little girl: "I like cupcakes." Teacher: "Yes, we know you like cupcakes, but do you like, bananas, or apples?" Little girl: (Making a face) "No I just like cupcakes." TOO funny!

I am also gearing up for a Handmade Market this Saturday, so I've been working overtime making jewelry while also working on lesson plans. And now I'm sick, which doesn't so much help. At least four or five of the kids in my class have bronchitis, and they've been hugging all over me and holding my hands (not to mention sneezing on me) all week, so it's no surprise I'm sick. I just hope I start feeling better tomorrow because I've got a lot of jewelry to make!

I should probably get to bed for now. I'm sitting here with my head in Nick's lap as he's playing a game on Xbox, and the controller keeps vibrating on my head. You know you wanted to know that.

Love and other indoor sports,
Cooter Pooter McGrooter

PS the Handmade Market will be at the Liquid Highway at Hudson Corners, located at 2133 Old Spartanburg Road in Greer, SC. There will be delicious coffee (as always, it's Liquid Highway, hell-o!) and lots of lovely handmade things (I'm hoping mine will be the loveliest!).

Just wondering

But is EVERYONE in the blogosphere Mormon? I'm NOT saying there's anything wrong with being Mormon, but it seems like 9 out of every 10 blogs I stumble across are written by Mormon women. Again, NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT, just sayin'. Of course, I quit reading Catholics' blogs after every other f-ing word was Jesus this and Jesus that, and all overly pious (I'm Catholic so I'm allowed to say that). I want to enjoy my blog-reading experience, thankyouverymuch, not feel like I'm sitting through a homily. Also, most of the Catholic-authored blogs I've read seem like they're trying to out-Catholic everybody else, talking about how everything they do is all about God, and how they went to this, that, and the other at church, and Fr. This says that....ugh. Gag me. I wouldn't mind if I thought it was authentic, but it seems like they're doing all this great stuff just so they can brag about it on their lame, boring blog.

ANYWAY, sorry to rant. I've been posting stuff on hawleywood, making jewelry, and gearing up for student teaching, instead of revamping furniture and cleaning the house like I should be. Oh well. I'm sure I will have a crazy rant after my first week of student teaching next week. I hope not, but I'm pretty sure it's inevitable.

I hope all two of my blog readers are having lovely weekends! I know I am! Our nephew Cooper had his 3rd birthday party today at Frankie's Fun Park, so we played Putt-Putt, some drove go-karts, and some went batting. I myself was a spectator in all except Putt-Putt. It was a lot of fun, and now we're hanging out at our friends' apartment, and Nick's playing Mario Tennis on the Wii.

I think I'm the only person my age who doesn't (and has never) gotten into video games. My sister and I had an Atari for literally two weeks, until my mom took it away because we fought over it. Oh, and I also had a Video Painter. I'll let that sink in. A Video Painter. You don't know what that is, you say? Well, allow me to enlighten you. The Video Painter is the retarded step-cousin of the video game. In fact, they are only related in that they both connect to your TV, and both have the word video in them. That's where the similarities end. You can use the Video Painter to color pictures that came with the Video Painter, do 5 puzzles over and over again, and spend countless hours wanting to stab yourself in the eye.

Fun, right? Here's a picture to make you all jealous of the totally awesome video painter I had while my cousins had every freaking Nintendo available, and my other cousin Mer at least had a Sega Genesis for crying out loud! What did I have? A VIDEO PAINTER.


Here's a little analogy for you: Video Painter : Video Game::Carob : Chocolate

Don't even try to tell me you like carob because CLEARLY it is no substitute for chocolate so don't even try it.

cooter out. tooter town.

Thank you

A huge thank you to Paula of www.kevinandpaula.com for featuring hawleywood - handcrafted jewelry fabulosity! Paula is a member of the South Carolina Etsy Street Team with me and has an awesome Etsy shop: www.playswithmud.etsy.com.

Thank you, Paula!

Silly Goose!

Now that Tin Oiseau is open, I am super excited to show you some of the goods! My current favorite is the Silly Goose print, because it is silly! Nick laughed out loud the first time he saw it (but he will totally deny it). I don't know why, but a goose with an orange afro (or clown wig) is hilarious (to me)! Anyway, this is it:

I begrudgingly listed one of my embroidered doo-lollies (a catchall term for any item where the actual name slipped my mind...deal with it) of a pear. It looks so nice in my dining room, see?

It's the little one...that looks like a pear.

I suppose I could part with it if someone else really loved it and would put it in their house.

Oh, duh, the whole point of this post (originally) was to show off some sweet goods I've picked up!!

Two mid-century mod chairs - $37.50 for the pair
Lamp that was silver & black (now spray-painted metallic bronze) - $5.00 + $3.00 for spray paint
Mid-century mod/Scandinavian style dresser - $25.00

So, I have the beginnings of my dream living room for under $100! Just as an aside, I saw the exact same lamp at Home Depot for $40.00! Thank you, Salvation Army Thrift Store, you're my hero!!

So my plan is to recover the chairs (obviously, since the cushions are dis-gusting), lightly sand and refinish the frames, and seriously sand and refinish the dresser. (Someone named Taylor carved his/her moniker into the top of the dresser. Clearly they had no appreciation for the beauty of this piece!!)

Now, here is where I need help. All two readers of my blog, listen up! I cannot for the life of me figure out what fabric to use for the chair cushions. I took some pictures of the chair with what I've got on hand, but I'm not really feeling anything in particular. Take a look and let me know if anything jumps out at you:

OR if you have any suggestions for some new hotness fabric, they would be MOST appreciated!!

Anyhoo, I suppose I should be going to bed now, seeing as it's 1:00 in the morning.

Good night!

Announcement

Tin Oiseau is up and running!! Tin Oiseau: art + home is my new shop where I will be listing art prints and things I have made for the home. Yay!

Here is the finalized banner:

I decided to go with aqua, white, & brown, because I've seen way too much black, white, & yellow lately. Yes, there is probably just as much of the other color combo out there, but WHATEVER it is my logo so I'll do what I want. I may change it to aqua, white, & grey, but I'm not sure yet. In any case, check it out here!

Crafty craft craft

Yes, I do make crafts other than jewelry, just not as much. Right now, I've got one reupholstery project in the works (two if you count the coffee table I'm going to turn into an ottoman...but I haven't actually started that one yet, so maybe we shouldn't count it), two nurseries in mid-decor (for twins, so they're right across the hall from each other, not across town or anything crazy like that), and I just finished a new crafty mama apron (of my own design, hence the bobo-ness of it all).

Here are the color schemes I've been promising of the twins' rooms:

*All colors are Behr except where noted.

And here are some pics of my apron (I didn't use a pattern, and cut the pieces of fabric separately, without really measuring, so yeah...):

This is the front.

Please ignore the complete and total disarray of our closet, but Nick wasn't home to take a picture so I had to do a self-portrait. Here are some details of the gadget-holders:



















And here's the reverse! It's reversible!


That's all for now. I'll be back with an important announcement tomorrow!

Mmmmm

I don't usually post about food on this blog, not because I don't like it (because one look at my ever-expanding waist...and ass will tell you that I do), but because I really don't "cook," per se. I reheat, toast, and bake, but that's really about the extent of my talents in the kitchen. Nick, on the other hand, is a master in the kitchen (most of the time). Just this weekend, for example, he made corned beef (awesome), and smoked a brisket and some cheese (who smokes cheese? My husband and his friend, that's who). Anyway, I woke up this afternoon (yes I took a six-hour nap today. Bite me.) to a delicious, cinnamon scent wafting from the kitchen. Can you guess what was waiting there for me? Go ahead, guess. I'll wait....

Note: This picture was taken after half of it was already devoured.

Did you guess a LOAF of cinnamon roll-bread? You did? Wow, you must be psychic! Yes, Nick made a braided loaf of Paula Deen's cinnamon roll recipe into bread. YUMTASTIC! I already made myself sick by eating so much of it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop. I might have to go into a diabetic coma later, but for now I'm still stuffing my face full of braided cinnamon bread and milk. MMMMMMmmmmmmmmm

No amount of mmmm's can accurately describe the deliciousness, but maybe more pictures will help:Layers of cinnamon goodness and soft bread. I'm drooling.

Made-from-scratch sweet glaze. I think I know how Homer Simpson feels about doughnuts now.

Okay, that's enough crazy rambling about food. Clearly, I have a problem. Operation Get Skinny ASAP starts Monday. Someone hold me to it.

Finally!!!

My computer is working again! Thanks to the fabulous people at iPlace in downtown Greenville, our MacBook has a brand new DC power converter and keyboard/touchpad area! YAY!!!

On to bigger and even better news: hawleywood jewelry is now being sold at Hip Replacements in downtown Asheville!!! OMGTOTHEMAX! My friend Karen had previously suggested I check out the co-op galleries up there, and last week, my friend Tristen suggested I take some of my pieces with us on our daytrip, just on the off-chance that someone in a store might be interested. Well, they were! I sold three necklaces to the owner of Hip Replacements, an awesome vintage-and-new boutique, and another to a lady working in Terra Diva, an upscale lingerie store. She bought the necklace right off my neck! Needless to say, I was SO EXCITED, and I celebrated by buying a sweet purple (plum, really) dress from Minx, yet another hot boutique.

Amazing, all in all. So, things are looking up for hawleywood - handcrafted jewelry fabulosity. I ran out of business cards that day, so I've been working on a new design. Here are the two I've come up with so far:



Yes, they are blurry, but I can't do much about that since Blogger will only let me upload JPEG files instead of TIFFs, which are much clearer. I don't know how those blog geniuses get their images so crisp (without increasing the resolution and making the file too big to upload). I'll have to find that out.

Anyway, I'm leaning toward the second one, just because of the gorgeous flowery border. But it doesn't really have anything to do with jewelry. Of course, my old card didn't have anything to do with jewelry either. I don't know, but I've got to figure something out fast! I'm going up to Asheville with more necklaces on Saturday, and I've got to have some by then!!

That's all the news that's unfit to print.

I hate technology

But only when it turns on me. My Macbook pretty much had some sort of epileptic seizure and stopped wanting to boot up and act normally, so I had to take it to the iPlace today to get checked out. I'm sure whatever it is will cost me 8 bajillion dollars and probably my soul too. Dammit. To make myself feel better about the damn computer I've started an apron using all Amy Butler fabrics. Jellis much? If the tarded mac gets fixed soon I'll post pics of the finished product. I've also got some nursery before-and-after shenanigans to get posted, so my fingers are crossed that the death knell hasn't sounded yet for good ol' MacBook.

Did I mention that it died in the middle of finishing my final project for my last grad course for my master's? Oh, I didn't? Well, it DID, the bastard! The audacity! In other news, I have some lovely new beads coming in soon! I'm currently working on some bridal jewelry for a lovely lady in Etsy land, and there are two (yes, 2) jewelry parties in the works for this fall!! So at least some things are going well and working out as planned (so far).

I think that's all the news there is, and all the news there isn't, to quote Michael Feldman. (If you don't know who he is, look him up, because you're missing out.)

Say a silent prayer for my little MacBook, and pictures will hopefully be up soon of the myriad projects I've delved into.

Cheerio!

Why am I up at 2:30 in the morning?

Well, I'll tell you. It's because I clicked over to MySpace for the first time in a LONG time to hear Neal Carpenter's music. Amazing? YES. I can't stop listening, especially to "Don't Give Up On Me." His music is like a mix of Ryan Adams, Kenny Rogers, vintage Michael McDonald, and a sprinkling of old-time bluegrass. That may not sound like your cup of tea, but you should DEFINITELY go to his MySpace site or iTunes and take a listen.

I grew up with Neal (I still live around the corner from his parents), and I never knew how musically talented he is. It's crazy that you can live down the street from someone your whole life and never really know them. Crazy.

Also, I have terrific, fantastic, wonderful news!! My friends Ryan and Heidi are the proud parents of twins, Owen and Ilona! They were born this afternoon via c-section, after a couple of touch-and-go moments in the hospital these past two weeks. They are about 9 weeks early, so there's a long road ahead, but they're doing great so far! They will most likely have to stay in the NICU for at least 4 weeks, so I've got some time before the nursery has to be finished (thankfully!).

That's all the updates for now. I guess I'll shuffle off to bed, seeing as it is L-A-T-E late!

Top 5 things I want to do (at this moment exactly)

1. My very own re-usable Swiffer Dusters! Go here for the tutorial.
2. Freakin' adorable DIY iron-on onesies. Tute found here.
3. Hooded bath towels (for me, and maybe some kiddies...we'll see). Jump on over.
4. Gift bags from envelopes? Preposterous!! Not on the interwebs...click here to see for yourself!
5. A fabulous necklace display. Awesomeness here.

Go forth and craft. And then take pictures and show me so I can live vicariously through you!!

Yay!!

I've been featured again, this time by the lovely Laura of Bright, Bold, and Beautiful. Here's the link: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=61892. Check it out while it's still up!

Here's a screen shot:

My Citrus Mint Necklace is in the bottom row, center.

SCORE!

I got super-duper lucky in my thrifting endeavors yesterday, and wound up with a brand new chair for our den! The couch and chair-and-a-half that we have are bobo hand-me-downs that we got from a yard sale, and only bought them because they were cheap. I've started filling in with thrifted, antique store-bought pieces, and some handmade items to try and get a cohesive look. The main problems in our living room are: hideous dark green carpet, even more hideous pinkish/tan tile (yes, in addition to the carpet), and our total and complete lack of money. I would rip up the carpet and tile, but we can't afford new carpet (much less hardwood floors), so we would be sitting on lovely 80s-era linoleum (you're jealous, don't lie).

In an effort to brighten up the couch (there's only so much green-on-green that one can handle), I made some throw pillows out of some lovely blue flowered fabric. I also scored a hot pillow and throw from Marshall's that continue the blue accent action for the chair-and-a-half. I sewed up a quick little green pillow for the new blue chair to try and make it tie in better with the rest of the room. Anyway, here it is!

This is after I sewed the cute tiny pillow for it, but before I cleaned it, hence the dusty appearance.

I also got a torso - yes, a torso - for photographing my necklaces. As much as I love showcasing my double chin in my Etsy photos, I've been wanting one for a while, and it was meant to be because as soon as I walked into the Goodwill, my eyes fell upon it. There it was, sitting on top of a desk, in plain view from the entrance. It was calling to me, and I of course listened. Wouldn't you?


Oh yes, I forgot to mention that it's a male torso. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to put a bra on him and stuff it or just let him wear my necklaces without breast enhancement. We'll see...

I'm not done yet, though. I also got a sweet lamp (or candle stand for a fatty candle if it doesn't work). If it works, I'm going to paint it and use it for a friend's nursery that I'm decorating.

We'll call this the before picture

I also found a great dresser and an almost perfect match for the lamp I bought the day before, only it's a floor lamp! Could it be more perfect? No, it could not. All this stuff isn't for me, though. It's for my friends who are having twins. I'm decorating their nursery, so 'll be sanding, priming, and painting the lamps, dresser, and a few accessories this weekend, and I'll post pictures of the process some time next week.

Have a happy rest of your weekend!

I've been featured!

In a treasury! Here's the screenshot:



And here's the link:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=70177

Thoughts?

I'm seriously considering opening another Etsy shop for my prints, paintings, and fabric art, but I need to think of a good name first. Right now I'm debating between Tin Oiseau and Handbanana. I just thought of Handbanana tonight (Thanks, ATHF!). It was between TO and Odile, but Nick pronounced it wrong and I don't want to think of people pronouncing it "Oh-dyle." Like anyone will pronounce oiseau any better. (It's wah-zoh in case you're wondering. It's French for "bird.") Anyway...I'm still debating. These are some possible designs I've come up with. Thoughts and suggestions are VERY welcome!!

Sorry for the blurriness of this one, not sure what the deal is:

I haven't come up with a design for Handbanana yet, since I just thought of that one tonight. Which is, by the way, totally unoriginal. Handbanana is the name of one of the characters on the Adult Swim cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force, only one of the best shows ever. It comes on Cartoon Network.

Anyway, please leave a comment or shoot me an email with your thoughts, opinions, critiques, etc. Nick thinks it looks like everything else on Etsy, which I can totally see, but I don't know that I necessarily want to steer myself away from that, because if that's what people gravitate toward, then I want to be gravitated to. Or toward. Or at. Whatever.

Another before and after!

I've been trying to find a cute and functional way to organize my jewelry supplies, and I think I've finally found the solution! My mom gave me a couple of lazy Susans (aka, turntables), and I thought that pairing them with some containers to hold my beads and tools seemed like a good idea. I mod podged them with some gorgeous Snow + Graham wrapping papers, and put my containers of beads on top. Perfect! Here are the pics, I hope you enjoy:


I also mod podged some cans to match so now I have coordinating pen/pencil/brush holders!Yay Mod Podge! Yes, I know they're lumpy and bubbly, but this is only my second foray into the world of Mod Podge, so I'm still learning...

Sweet tags for a sweet baby!

I made these tags for my new baby cousin Emmy, who is a-dorable! I'm hoping her mommy can use them to label Emmy's stuff with them. I love giving handmade gifts, but unfortunately Emmy doesn't have a lot of use for jewelry right now, so maybe she'll get more use out of these! Anyway, here they are! If you know any babies named Emmy please feel free to print them out on cardstock and use them!

Thank you!

Thanks so much to Laura over at Bright, Bold, and Beautiful for featuring my Summer Sun Necklace in her "Beautiful Things" section. It's in the right sidebar.

THANK YOU!

DIY Display Fun

I found an awesome DIY necklace display tutorial over at Stella + Hodge, the blog of a fellow Etsian (you can visit her shop here). She tweaked it from another tutorial she found, and made it even better! You can see the finished product here:

Image via Stella + Hodge

Cool, huh? I'm going to try it out as soon as I get some free time (so probably never). I love the pattern she used on hers, and I just so happen to have some fabulous Snow + Graham papers laying around...maybe one day I'll have a spare couple of minutes to whip one up. If I do ever get around to making it, I will be sure to post pics!

It's almost Friday!!

Hey, you look like a drunk on-the-go!

Just kidding! Thanks, Jim Gaffigan, for the title of this blog post.

Anyway, here is yet another fabulous upcycle from Sue over at Junk Market Style. She found a metal caddy of some sort and repurposed it into a traveling bar! Love it! How perfect would this be for a summer party on the porch or in the backyard? I love the little bar that holds the bowl of limes and glasses. Also, the bottle opener tied to the top of the caddy? Perfection. Enjoy the pictures below, and click on over to read the whole post!





(Excuse the tee-tiny picture...that's what was on the site!)

Summer Ad

This is what I'm thinking for my next ad on Facebook and Craftcult.com:


Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? (I'm looking at you, Melissa...ahem, Miss Graphic Designer!) FYI, it will be a lot smaller (150x100 pixels)

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS???

Apparently, there is a HUGE flea market in Springfield, Ohio, which just happens to be where my husband's family is from (and where a lot of them still live!!!). There are two more weekends of flea markets this year. One is next weekend (damn you, Saturday classes!), and the other is in September. I am seriously, totally, for sure going in September. I don't care if I have to hitchhike all the way there, it's on like Donkey Kong!

Check the site for more info, and let me know if you want to come along for the ride! I will be driving, since I'm sure I'll be bringing back lots of amazing things! Just look at the pics (I'm seriously drooling already...)!

What can you do with dominoes?

A lot, if you're Sue Whitney from Junk Market Style. She's done it again! I am constantly amazed at her ingenuity! Here, she has used dominoes, hinge parts, and a piece of scrap wood to create one of the coolest desk organizers I have ever seen! Personally, I would want to use it for my mail, since I don't do so much of the desk organization type things...or really any organization type things at all. Don't judge me!

Here are some pics of the final product. Click on over to be amazed, inspired, and schooled!

Inspiration!

I found a link to a post on Junk Market Style via Curbly.com, one of my fave DIY sites. I had never heard of the site, but I can tell you it is already bookmarked! Before I even got to the second page, I saw a fabulous desk redo that I had to share.

Sue Whitney revamped her high school daughter's desk with (of course) some cool flea market finds. She has some great tips and photographs on upcycling a damaged desk protector using vintage wallpaper. Please click here to read the whole post. I'll leave you with some images of the "after" loveliness.