Shrine

Thankfully my pal Clarrissa waited till after the election to test my 08ama necklace as a ladder. Can't blame a girl for learning to walk right? Now it honorably sits next to the champagne cork from the night Obama won. (!!)

The new "to do" list

Some might remember this letter tray from an earlier post...

What was originally just a nice display has now developed into a sort of to do list. It's where I put lost buttons in need of re-sewing, charms I mean to do something with or photos I want to remember to admire on a daily basis. Basically I'm thinking I'll put anything small up here, that needs remembering and over time it'll become a little library of "thoughts."

Instead of having to find a suitable mismatched button, I'll know right where I put the matching one! This will also save me the trouble of configuring a back up outfit when I can't think of anything but the skirt in need of mending. Have I ever mentioned that virtually ALL of my mending occurs three minutes before I'm supposed to walk out the door?? Yeah. There I am, sporting half an outfit, frantically sewing on the end of my bed, when I could just throw on pair of jeans and tee shirt like a normal person.

But back to the tray... I'm always really interested in clutter. I certainly don't like messes, but there's something to the little chatchkas we humans collect. Every home seems to have some, whether its refrigerator magnets, tiny toys, rocks & shells, or even "real art." Imagine.

I'm also really interested in people's inability to deal with their clutter. In other words, organization, or lack thereof. In my world, what might look like a simple pile, actually has a lot of rhyme and reason to it. I think this is the difference between a mess and a display, the intention. I love the idea of turning a bad habit, or organizing weakness, into display. My idea for someone who is always throwing clothes on the floor, is to throw them on the wall instead. Install a grid of hooks, or even just long nails, and stuff your clothes up there instead. Sure it'll look like a pot of spaghetti clothes... but you'll have room to walk, you won't have to take the precious time to put them away and over time, it might end up looking kinda cool up there.

So here are all the thoughts so far in my tray:

This stack of British coins looked so beautiful against the dark wood, I just want to regularly admire it. I love the detailed edges... how come our coins aren't as cool?? Also, I might want to design something based off of these patterns.

These sparkly buttons need to be re-attached to this coat.

A squid and my handsome Grandpa in his navy uniform!! I miss you!

A map box I need to find a new chain for and scented green tea oil to liven up my draw papers!

A little lost tree bird checking things out, a broken pin that needs fixing or a new life and green thread that is just pretty.

Two charms that need chains and a "G" typewriter key for the pair of initial cuff links I owe my friend Garth.

Girly and Pink

My wares for the flea are looking quite girly these days and I'm totally into it! Most of these are from two Fleas ago and long gone... but some are still available!




(sold!)








(sold!)

Many thanks to all who braved the rain in the early hours of yesterdays Flea. It meant so much to sell even just a few items, huddled under the tent and our umbrellas! Then, when the sun broke through, so many lovely faces! Thank you for coming out and thank you for your purchases and sweet comments! It perked me up to no end at a much needed time!

This group of friends met up with each other right in front of my booth and I just had to take their photo. Look at how beautifully their outfits coordinate!

Obama everywhere...

I've been taking for granted the fact that I pretty much live in a triple pro-Obama town, have quadruple-pro-Obama pals and practically see his face on every surface from fenders to fanny packs. (ok I didn't see a fanny pack, but how cool would that be?)

I love this DIY verson! Use what you've got people!!

Regardless of your political leanings, you have to admit it's pretty phenomenal to have a Presidential candidate inspire such a wide demographic. My fashion designer roommate had an Obama themed show for fashion week while the grandmother of the child I babysit, who also happens to be a retired judge, is leaving town to go campaign at age 70.

Here's a candidate who is more than just the lesser of two evils, he's someone I'd really like to see become president! So what am I doing now to ensure I can throw some fancy State of The Union Address parties over the next four years? Well, with all the supporters doing work around me, I've sort of forgotten how important it is to represent, but now it's time to get in the game!!!

My suggestion, this necklace from Brookadelphia:
And if you prefer to stay neutral in your advertising... at least choose this sentiment:

I'm a big fan of Brookadelphia. We made a nice trade last Christmas at the Bust craft fair, when I got these rad antler earrings:


This year, at Renegade, I got this awesome "Post Post Modern necklace." It's always is quite a conversation starter.
This jewelry kind of doesn't fit with my usually, pretty old fashioned, girly girl look (is that what it is???) but that's why I love it. This will be my next purchase I think:


Oh, I almost forgot. $10 of the "08ama" necklace goes to his campaign! Go team!!!

I survived Renegade 2008!

Someone make the tee shirt already! I survived Renegade 2008!

Scheduling a craft fair in a drained pool is an awesome idea...until... the thunderstorms come and the pool fills up to your ankles! Well, that might be an exaggeration but not for my corner at least. I'm telling you, by the end of the first day, the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair had turned into one of the most fashionable wet tee shirt contests imaginable. Picture it, insanely cute gals in their summer frocks and high waisted shorts bearded boys in their shortest shorts, all running around soaked to the bone. I'm just saying, nothing like giant rain storms to bring people *ahem* together! My friend Anne told about how she and a bunch of kids gathered in the small, drizzle free entrance to wait it out, when all of a sudden one dude says, "Ok... townspeople!" and he spontaneously inspires them all to play Mafia. Way to make lemonade, Mr. and by the way, are you single?

But we survived! All and all, it was a blast! I made new friends and found some sweet new things, which I'll post soon.

Our booth on Saturday before the rain:




The cute kids across the way weren't scared by a little rain, they set up camp like pros!

Love the rolled up jeans and sneaks on dudes, btw...

The rain begins and NEVER ends!!

Slightly freezing...

The next day was a little less rainy. We decided to condense to one table, just in case it rained again. I think it made things cuter! There were many reactions to my Fathers Day sign... the most common being "oh crap! I forgot to call my dad!" Followed by immediate dialing.



I made this tie last minute Sunday morning and it sold right away. I'm glad I grabbed a shot of it. More cattails on the way I think.

New Items in my Etsy Shop!!!

The other day I combined the two things I love most ( well a lot at least!) tiny drawings and making jewelry...and this tree necklace came out! I made a bunch of other drawing necklaces which I will post soon. I'm preparing for the Brooklyn Flea and an up coming paper themed Poppytalk Handmade.
In the process of taking photos, with myself as the only model, I completely missed the necklace... but I kinda like this photo anyway...

Craft Fair Prep

I took a break from knitting and flying around the room...aka dance rehearsal... today to do some much needed prep for the upcoming Brooklyn Flea.

Hopefully my table will be full of map & stamp jewelry, trees, craft kits and harfs. Probably not too much knitwear, considering the change in weather.

The Brooklyn Flea is going to be a huge flea market in Fort Greene starting in April, every Sunday from 10am -5pm. You'll find it at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School on Lafayette Ave. between Clermont and Vanderbilt Ave. There are about a zillion vendors listed... crafts, clothes, vintage, antiques, food, furniture... gosh, the list goes on!!

Come visit me!

We're all friends here...

I'm a little bit dizzy
My car ride home from the craft fair was a tad, shall we say... nauseating
One braid has fallen out of my Swiss Miss Girl/Fraulein updo
My hands smell like a combination of Clementine and the falafel that Cal gave me (because I hadn't had any food all day and she's nice. Thanks Cal! And Calle for the Clementine!)
Currently my room looks like this....
I might be coming down with something... I feel a sniffle
This morning the house was very cold and there was no hot water.
I'm very excited to take my shower now!
I called a car service to deliver me... but when I got there, realized I didn't pack my wallet.
(Thank you car service guy for being nice and letting me go...IOU... other crafty friends for lending me mooola and sharing your coffee and snacks!)
About an hour before the craft fair ended I realized I had had my wallet all along!
Total Flake!
I'm ready for vacation dudes.
LEt it snow in Maine please!
I want to go sledding!
I'll see you soon pine trees!

Oh yeah, here's my view of the craft fair:




Maps & Dreams

This is my 200th post!
Yeah!

I've been waiting for this to come up and wanted to prepare something special... but wasn't really sure what. In the spirit of Inspired Living, things just sort of came together at the last moment. I sit here typing seconds away from when I should be leaving for my next gig, as usual. Here's how it goes.
I recently I listened to an episode of This American life called Mapping. You should really listen to it because it's quite nice, especially the parts about sound. I got me to thinking about how my blog is a kind of map of my thoughts... a part of this whole gigantic map of many masterminds called simply "the internet." Crazy.

Then last night, as I sat preparing a few more bits of jewelry for the craft fair tomorrow... I came across an old map that inspired a tiny new jewelry collection for me. I hadn't sat down to make things in this way for a while... with sweaty palms, racing heart and pure excitement over an idea. Inspired Living last night for sure.

So here it is, the result of my life's map over the past week which is now a part of the bigger 'map' somehow.