Yet another obsession

WWEPW - Hairography "What Emma WOULD wear" by dlishly-girly featuring Ted Baker shoes

I'm obsessed with dressing "Emma Pillsbury". I blame "What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear?", which I discovered through Tom and Lorenzo when they posted an interview they did with WWEPW. (Pretty common how I discover other blogs, I find them through clicking from a link in a favorite blog to another blog, and then I see an interesting link in THAT blog, and so on... it's like a Rube Goldberg of clicking to get from one site to the newly loved site. xD)

WWEPW has fashion challenges where you re-dress Emma with an item from a previous outfit, and they use the site called Polyvore to create the collages. OMG I HAVE ALREADY MADE 4 COLLAGES, THEY'RE SO MUCH FUN. It's like shopping and being a personal stylist, as well as invoking my love of paper dolls from when I was a kid! LOVE IT. SO MUCH FUN.

AND playing with Polyvore via WWEBW's group has led me to a NEW glee blog to love, Glee Dork. It's the Ciiiircle of Liiiiiife, and it rules us allll...

On my back and unable to craft!

I'm so sad to say I haven't touched anything crafty in so long... last Friday morning, my last day of school vacation, I strained my lower back. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time, and just as annoyingly it happened under relatively mundane circumstances. I won't go into a long diatribe of why it probably happened, other than to say that I'm now damned determined to not let it happen EVER AGAIN. Why? Aside from being all "hurty" (to quote Ralph Wiggum), It's SO BORING TO LAY ON YOUR BACK ALL WEEKEND AND WEEK. I can't walk my dog farther than the complex pool (which is maybe 50 feet from our apartment), and she's going NUTS, poor baby. I can't craft, can't shop, can't do anything, really.

I'm getting close to being 100% again, but this was probably the worst I've ever strained it so it's taking longer to heal, sadly. I'm at the point where I can walk around a little more, but I'm still not standing up straight. It's gone from really painful to really uncomfortable. I probably could have crocheted all this time on my back, but I'm more feeling card-making, haha. That's the craft I can't really do right now, though! Argh! I actually NEED to make a card or two now! xD

So instead I'll share a couple of blogs that are majorly inspiring to me right now! Fair enough, right?

The Sew Weekly - I actually found her via CRAFT Magazine's blog when she blogged her journey to prepping herself and her friends for "A Gatsby Afternoon" (which I WILL go to one day, oh yes...). CRAFT linked her up again as she started this blog, and her love of vintage + her Bay Area references (I'm from the area as well, and miss it terribly) = I LOVE THIS BLOG. It makes me want to get my sewing machine fixed so I can start sewing again, more than any other inspiration - and I studied costume design in college, for chrissakes!

Vickie Howell blog - I have to admit, I know how to knit but I've never been a fervent knitter like other people are, so Vickie was always kind of a "meh" for me. Nothing against her, I just wasn't that into what I thought was her main craft or most of her patterns. =) BUT I discovered her blog today, and it's not all knitting! It's actually full of great craft projects.

Heart of Light - She is life-living inspiration. Not only is she a very talented crafter (I love her rosebuds and wish I'd thought of it first, dammit!), but her postings about the little things she does to make her life beautiful simply fill me with awe and wonderment. She reminds me that life is for LIVING, not existing. At the very least, I'm copying her "Friday flowers" idea... but mine will be Saturdays 'cuz that's when I can get to the Farmer's Market. ;D

V-Day 2010

V-Day 2010
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

Ahhhh, god bless holidays that give me an excuse to make cards!

Actually, it was last year's V-day that made me interested in card-making in the first place. I was inspired by an online friend's decoupaging of tissue papers on card stock to make Xmas cards, and since I do love to decoupage, I thought it'd be fun to make V-day postcards for my friends and family. I ended up making a few actual cards, too. Here's some of the postcards I made. Crazy how I've been doing this for a year and now I'm totally hooked.

The funny thing is, I still kind of turn my nose up at scrapbooking, which is basically CARD-MAKING on a bigger scale! It's not that I don't like pictures, I just think that most scrapbooking I see tends to be a bit cutesy and cloying, even when done well. I know, I'm a snob. I still like to look at it, but make it? Meh. Maybe I'll change my tune when I have kids, although having a totally cute dog hasn't inspired me to change my tune. O__o

Regardless, I less than 3 (<3) Valentine's day. Not just because I have a Valentine (although yes, I do), but because I love love. I try to act all cool and cynical, but dammit, I'm a big gushy lovebug at heart. Not romantic love, though, just the act of love. I love my family, I love my friends, I love The Hubs, I love my dog (she's so cute OMG, you readers are so lucky I don't turn this into a dog-blog), and I love having a day to shower them with gushy affection. I do hate how this holiday makes people feel lonely, though, but I LOVE having the excuse to make pretty cards for them to cheer them up!

This year, though, I admittedly got a leetle lazy with it and only made intricate cards for certain family members and out-of-state friends. My local friends are getting kitschy school-style valentines when I see them, and The Hubs is getting candy and a printed-out card of a TV character he likes 'cuz I think it'd be funny and he won't expect it. ;D

Actually, now that the cards are made and shipped off, I'm planning on making more love-themed crafts, but they won't be card-related. I've been wanting to try my hand at pocket shrines and altered books for a while, and now I'm going to work on that. One will be for a grandma who has a bday coming up (pocket shrine), I think, along with an order from my mom to make her another neck-scarflette like the one I made Grandma for xmas - apparently Grandma really likes it and wears it all the time, haha. I can't wait to play with them, though, and show you my results!

Happy Valentine's Day! Don't make it about romance, make it about showing everyone you care about that you think they're lovely.

New cards

Bday card for my Grandmama
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

So, I said I'd post once a MONTH, right? Not once a week? Just wanted to clear that up. ;D

How do you find motivation to craft at the end of a long day? I'm having trouble finding it. I can look at craft stuff all day on blogs (if work is being particularly slow - usually I don't get much of a chance to go on the 'net) and be SO INSPIRED, and then I come home, walk the dog, do any chores, start dinner, and before I know it it's 7:30pm and I have no desire to do anything other than watch the boob tube or surf the net.

I think my other issue is that my craft area is very small and only conducive to certain crafts. For example, I've been wanting to sew, but my desk won't support it and my sewing machine needs to be looked at but we don't have the funds. I've been crafting on our dining table because my desk (which nicely holds all my craft supplies) doesn't have a ton of room for actual crafting, esp. with my laptop on it. Plus my desk and dining table are in the general front room of our 1-bedroom apartment, so I have no privacy and am easily distracted.

Either way, I go through phases where I can't stop crafting, and then I go through weeks where I have no inspiration or motivation. I miss it right now, but I did craft up a storm at my mom's this weekend. Made 4 cards, including the one pictured, which was my favorite of the bunch. She admitted she doesn't always craft when she gets home, too, which made me feel better. Hopefully when The Hubs and I can afford to move into a bigger home, I'll feel more inspired since we've agreed that we'll get at least a 2-bedroom that I can use one of the rooms for crafting, which means I could spread around and have everything I need in one room.

In the meantime, I will just continue to gather links to cool stuff I want to make. My dream is to start an after-school monthly crafting club for whatever school I work at long-term, so I actually have lots of those links saved and ready to go. I also have the desire to make Valentine's for my friends again this year, so I think I'll work on that as my motivating project for this month. Hopefully when I post next month, I can show you what I ended up doing! xD

I'm not dead!

Retro Card 1
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

I know, I know, I've been dreadful about updating this blog.

Part of it was lack of time - I was busy cranking out Xmas gifts.

Then it was lack of inspiration. There are so many blogs out there centered around crafting, I don't quite know how to make mine interesting, let alone relevant.

THEN it was actually getting a long-term sub gig that kept me tired and busy.

FINALLY it was due to adding a new member to the family. I blame this devil:

Don't be fooled by her adorableness, she's... well, she's not evil, she's just distracting. xD

I do want to make this a regularly updated blog. Maybe not daily, but at least weekly. For now, it might just be a "Look what I made!" blog, and that's fine, as I find my niche. I won't say that there won't occasionally be a blathering about other creative things, though, like theory or people I admire that are what I deem "creative". I also might blog about style as it relates to me, as I'm trying to pull myself out of a self-imposed duldrums when it comes to self-expression.

In the meantime, I wanted to start the new year on the right track and say "Hello!" I am re-committing to this blog, there's no point in having it and not using it, and I really do want to show what I make more often.

If you'd like more info on the card featured above, please click on the picture to go to the Flickr page with description. =)

Happy 2010! Let's make this an awesome one, eh?

Homemade Xmas gifts - yay or nay?

Sorry for the radio silence; my current project was also my biggest project, and I've kind of been focusing my time to that. It's done now, though, and I can share.

Here's the thing, though - it's for a friend who is internet savvy, so rather than just go BLAM and post a picture, I'm going to link the pictures, and you can choose to look if you want. I will only say that it is crochet and it is wearable.

After Xmas, I'll post the pattern and such - I don't know where the pattern is from, because I saw a similar piece on a student while subbing, fell in love with it, and figured out the pattern myself from looking at how the piece was made. It's very simple, though, and I really like how it turned out; I just can't claim credit for it OR give proper credit - the original piece was a gift to the student! xD

Picture one

Picture two

Here's my fear, though - I love my friends and family, and I know they love me. But I worry that what I give them is crap. No matter how well it's made, I really fear that they'll think it's crap. Now, I'll admit part of this fear came about from an offhand crack someone I deeply care about made about a gift I made them last year (no specific pronouns to protect the innocence), calling it a "yarmulke" (apparently I made it too small - but the person is a tiny person and I wasn't sure!). To the point where I haven't made any of the gift I made last year for this year's round.

I like making the gifts, though, because I'm trying to make a gift that the person will love and want to wear/use on site. It's an extension of my joy of gift-giving in general; it's my goal to find something unique to the recipient that they'll also like AND be able to use. So I'm already disappointed if they don't like what I buy; it's even more heartbreaking if they don't like what I made just for them.

At the same time, I don't want to be treated like a charity case, either - feedback is helpful, always, but the joke hurt. I doubt the person meant to hurt, but it still hurt a LOT. (Not that I ever told the person... not to mention how lame am I that an offhand joke made A YEAR AGO is lingering over my head still?)

I guess this is where I am at a standstill - I still love to make things with my hands, but at the same time I don't want to bother if it's not going to be useful or appreciated by the person. If they aren't liking their gifts, then it becomes, to be blunt, creative masturbation - I'm making things for me but claiming they're "gifts". Meh.

Not that this ultimately matters - I mean, for Pete's sake, I've already made the majority of gifts this year, and this is one of the few years where it's been a NECESSITY due to financial issues. Ultimately I think the people I love take it as my slightly-better macaroni picture of love for them, like I did when I proudly gave my parents my class "artwork". So whether it's actually a good gift depends on the recipient, but ultimately it's received with the intention that I made it for them because I love them. =)

Aaaand on that note it just occurred to me yet another damn gift I'd like to make for people. God dammit. I'M ADDICTED TO GIFT MAKING, I CAN'T STOP.

Sami turns 21!

My younger sister, Sami*, has officially turned 21. Ignoring the fact that all my years of pushing on the top of their heads a la Lucy from "Peanuts" didn't work, I'm very excited for her. Now we can go drinking!

Not that I'm some huge drunk, or that she hasn't already been drinking for years. Just... it's a milestone that I get to help someone else celebrate! I'm usually the younger of my crowd; the only other person I've helped celebrate their 21st is my husband (who is 1.5 years younger).

So I'm excited! To celebrate, I made my sister a card AND jewelry for myself to wear tonight so I feel a little younger and more hip. (Not that I'm SO much older, but I'm a good 7 years older than my fellow revelers... and probably the only one who is dorky enough to use the word "reveler". ;p)

First, my sister's card:
I wanted to convey a sense of drinking. Was I successful? ;p I made the martini "paper" with some clear stamps, then colored and stamped the large martini glass.

Aaand these are for me! I'm treating my sister to dinner (and if she really likes this set, I'll just give it to her - I have enough materials to make another xD) for her gift, but I wanted a good necklace to go with my low-cut sweater top. I want to look cute, too! Even if I AM the old lady of the group! Hahahaha.

*If you look to the right, you will notice that I am named Samantha. Yes, Sami is short for "Samantha" and my sister and I have the same name. Just to explain, 'cuz EVERYONE asks: My sister and I share a brother, but are not blood relatives ourselves. Basically, bro and I share a dad, bro and Sami share a mom. Sami is my sister through LOVE, which is even stronger than blood IMHO - I don't have to love her, but she is my sister no matter what you say. The names are merely coincidence - we met when she was 1 and I was 8.

Hallowe'en Craftiness

So, as I've mentioned before, I'm an unemployed teacher. Nothing I did, just the way the chips fell with the economy and the budget cuts statewide. Ugh.

I am working as a substitute teacher, and unemployment makes up the difference, so we're not broke, but we're trying to be cheap and frugal when need be.

One of those frugal choices was Halloween - we wanted to have fun costumes, but not spend a lot of money. We thrift-store hunted and modified as needed. I went as a Roller Derby girl, and I made my own shirt:

I was lucky - the trims were on sale for 50% off, so I spent about $3 for the trims. Paint cost about $3, and the shirt itself was a whole $2.

I found the stencils at Michaels in a set for $5. I painted the fire first, then layered the skull on top once the painted fire was dry.

My "derby name" and number - hey, if I'm hell on wheels, I should have an appropriately demonic number! (The derby name is a play on our last name, hence the double n.)

Aaaand me in full costume. Helmet is thrifted, found the skirt at a thrift store and cut it WAAAY short (esp. in back - oops), and found the knee socks at a thrift store, too. The fishnets are tights that I cut the crotch out of and cut the feet - the "crotch hole" went around my shoulders, and I owned the black tights already. So basically I made my costume for about $25! I had skates, too, but I didn't get a chance to practice in them before we went to my cousin's house - and I didn't want to get an RUI, or fall on my butt, frankly. Hehe.

Most people got it immediately, and I was told the shirt was the best part. It's my favorite part, too - I'm glad I found those stencils to make the "logo" of the team!

Just 'cuz I can crochet doesn't mean I should, probably... ;D

Xmas '09 gift for Joey 2
Originally uploaded by mantequilla81

WUT UP.

Ok, I love this photo, hahaha. But that's because I'm a dork.

So the sad thing about this project is that the gloves are for my friend Joey... who is very much a dude. Yet you can see that these fingerless gloves fit me well. *sigh* I have man hands. I'm a 5'10" Amazonian woman that desperately wishes I was 5'2" and dainty. It's like a St. Bernard trying to be a lap dog. xD

BUT I like how the gloves turned out. I think Joey will, too. They're simple and WARM, and they'll go with a cool leather jacket or a pea coat (as Joey is a fashionable sort). And if he doesn't like them, well... then hopefully he'll lie and tell me he does. Good thing I'm working on a stationary set for him, too. Speaking of, I'll have to show that set when it's done - it's probably one of the cooler card sets I've ever made. Which reminds me, I need to get back to work on those, I still have 4-6 of those to make...

Anyway, this is the second to last crochet project for the holidays, but the last one will be a looooong one. It's a scarf, and it's a scarf I'm trying to figure out from only looking at it. Oy. We'll see how it goes!

Wannabe: Luxirare

Luxirare keeps sneaking up on me, and I've finally given myself over to it completely.

The funny thing is, I'm not so much interested in her fashion posts as I am her food posts. She makes some of the most exquisite food posts I've ever seen - even when she's not the one making the food. Her photos are works of art, and her write-ups are hoity-toity foodie talk with a touch of wit and the occasional pop culture reference thrown in (she freakin' reference Wu-Tang Clan, she had me at "C.R.E.A.M."). Some examples: Pie Pops Bento Box

Rather than make this a complete ass-kissing post, I'll simply write here what I just commented on her Steak n' Sides post (which isn't even my favorite post!):

"My GOD. I'd go gay for you."

I mean every word.

(The Hubs won't mind, as long as I help her cook a good meal for him before we ride off into the sunset. Something tells me he'll be too drunk on good eats to notice.)