So Long, Hearing Ability

Husband played a great, loud show last night at the Spitfire Saloon, conveniently located right next door to a taco bell that is open til 4am.  Woke up with a pocket full of FIRE sauce and laying on top of some lettuce.

Red Giant

It was a great break from all the packing and nonsense back at the apartment.  Cleveland rockers are the best to hang with.

Goodbye Joel, Goodbye Cleveland

I dont even smoke and I love making ashtrays.

A good friend of ours died recently, while we were out of town and I just came across some pictures we took at his home not too long ago.  He had a great piece of land with a tire swing that hung from a branch a couple stories high and he had chickens.

He also always had Coronas and a lime on him.

this is my husband goofing off on his property.

When we leave Cleveland there will be much to be missed.  Most of all my great friends and of course the amazing places to eat and shop, like Phnom Penh.  Ive eaten there MANY times and have only ever had the 54B; i highly recommend their Original Khmer with Chicken.

Crazy things to see around every corner.

Votive Holder Craft

A convenient little catch all.  Use it to store tacks, wash your body piercings, light candles, catch light in the windows, hold bobby pins, as a Barbie spittoon... IT'S USEFULNESS WILL NEVER WEAR OUT!

Supplies:
Old Nail Polish
Paint Brush
Cheap Votive Holders
Elmer's Glue or Mod Podge
Magazines/ Wrapping Paper/ Catalog....

Super Easy!
Step 1- Paint the exterior of the holder with your selected color/ colors
Step 2- Cut out cool images that will fit on the surface
Step 3- Use the paint brush to apply a thin layer of glue, then apply your images, and seal with another layer of glue.

If you use these for candles, put tea lights in and keep an eye on it.  Technically paper and nail polish are  flammable.

Dinner Napkins

I love having cloth napkins but because I rarely get around to laundry, I have to have a LOT around or else I have to resort to napkins within a few days.  I made some super simple dinner napkins that would work well if you had guests so everyone knows which is theirs and a mixing of cooties is avoided.

These guys were very popular and I sold out of them.

U can purchase plain napkins to embellish or use your own fabric squares.  The different moods can be paired up with the appropriate guest.

  Super simple and fun to make.

Gallery Events

Busy day tomorrow:

First, I've got to support local artists and friends by attending these fabulous events-
Fragmentation: Seed, Spore, and Polyp

William Rupnik Gallery

Jonah Jacobs produces works of art using unconventional materials in ways that challenge one’s perception of found objects. In altering ordinary consumables and using them to create semblances of organic formations, he seeks to not only introduce the public to a new aesthetic possibility, but also to highlight the intrinsic processes incorporated in nature. Cardboard remains, frayed shoelaces, and bits of string are combined and assembled to create sculptured collages which emphasize texture and the inherent nature of art. While not his intent to create pieces that are exact representations of biological structures, Jonah's artwork is a paradigm of an advancing species, with each new piece cultivating a new habitation. 

Wall Eye Gallery On Friday January 22nd , 2010, Wall Eye Gallery will present Boldfigures, featuring works by Hannah Verbeuren, Ken Nevadomi, Dante Rodriguez, Barbara Konrad, and Claudio Orso-Giacone as part of Wall Eye’s latest exhibition. Boldfigures is a group show of artists from the northeast Ohio region working in photography, painting, drawing, and printmaking who use the human figure as their main subject or inspirationfor their work. This collection of paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs display a strong emphasis on the human form or animal figure through exaggerated forms, bodily actions, or boldly delineated lines by the whim of the artist’s brushstrokes. Whether searching for personal meaning, documenting current state of affairs, or expressing everyday life, these artists share the recognition of the endless possibilities and potential of the human figure.

And I also am in the midst of a major cleaning of the sewing room.  Imagine a room where you can only take two steps in before encountering stacks of art supplies as tall as yourself and then you step on a bead, ouch! only to fall backward into precariously leaned bolts of fabric which then tumble down knocking over bowls of beads and my box of glues.  Spent a few hours in there today and I can actually stand in the middle!

So now it's time to lay in bed and watch movies til my cats and I are fast asleep.  I'll be dreaming of new tattoo ideas.  How sweet would this be?

All of my tattoos are either religious or Mexican.

Rings n Herbs

When I first started making rings and toe rings, I would find objects around the house similar to the size I needed and use them for sizing.  chapstick was a favorite for toe rings.

Now that I have a mandril, I'm able to know what the sizes are and I love it.

Been making a bunch of small things to put online for sale that arent too complicated since I've been in and out of town a lot this past month.

My favorite center pieces right now are vintage beads and buttons.

Abalone Shell

The black bead in the above picture is a vintage, hand-cut, glass, rosary bead and the middle, light grey is a vintage find from a random box of shoulder pads.

Ive also been perfecting the tea wallet design with magnificent results.  And now I am off to walk downtown in search of the perfect herb book.  I've had my eye on John Lust's The Herb Book but we'll see what I find in the local bookstores and main library.

Boston!

Ended up going to Boston for about a week!

Took 11 hours to drive there but the weather was great the whole time.  We had plenty time to stretch our legs over the next four days walking around.  I love the stops along the way.  Found photo booths that give you the strip of four poses but forget to hit it up on the way back as well =(

There were a lot of ethnic grocery stores that we passed along the way as we explored the neighborhood.  We made our way to Boston University stopping by an awesome asian market where they had a large variety of veggie dishes.   After dining at a brazilian place, I'm determined to start frying bananas and plantains.  

We encountered many animals on our explorations.  Here is K.t. with a few new friends:

My husband's band was recording in Boston.

Still tired but wanting to make some things with metal objects I found in Boston.  Also thinking of brewing the coffee I took from the hotel even though we have a huge can of it- I'm just a fan of free things!

I didnt see a Boston Market til we were well on the road leaving, hmmm.

Yoda is a close second

Green Living Tips

If it's yellow, let it mellow.  If it's brown, flush it down.

Also, it's economical AND fashionable to shop at your local thrift stores.
Hat: 69 cents
Glasses: $1 (a deal since they even have a prescription in them- although I have 20/20)
Ankle length coat WITH hood: $15
Looks you'll get walking around: Priceless

I'm a tea bagger.

And I've been seeing those cool tea bag wallets everywhere online. When I was about to purchase one, I stopped myself, slapped myself, and asked: Why don't you MAKE one when you have 5 shelves of fabric plus some still in boxes?!

After slapping myself back, never to be out-done, I realized it was a great idea. I'm not big on patterns so just got some fabric and tea bags from the kitchen and set about my work.

Although I did once make fun of a couple at the local diner that ordered, "just hot water" and proceeded to make their own tea at the table. But they were also sitting on the same side of the table at a booth seat. I expected them to pull out their own bread to be toasted as well. I may have been hungover and sorta cynical.

Anyways- to continue on with yet another paragraph beginning with an A...

Corduroy from old pair of Old Navy Pants

Orange Felt I got for free somehow

Amazing wool scrap

Vintage button and calico fabric I bought from a woman who no longer can sew

Thick green yarn I got from someone

I last minute changed my mind on the fabric for the second pocket so imagine the skinny orange and green rectangles replaced by the one rust colored wool rectangle.

Since I hardly drink anymore, I carry around a travel mug and teas so I can still merrily participate and not wind up passed out under the table in a most un-merry fashion.

Wonder what I'll make today.... My guess, is a mess.

Sorry, I owe you a present.

Bought some great fabric for a fellow seamstress but missed her before we left town for the holidays. Two days ago I succumbed to temptation and USED it. For shame.

I ended up making a nice tote/ purse and for really cheap.

Supplies:

Stolen Fabric

$1 canvas belt from dollar store

scrap rectangle of fabric

vintage zipper Id been saving for something awesome

pockets cut off old pants (cause im lazy)

"inspiration"

I pleated the cool fabric until it matched the length of my rectangle which perfectly matched the zipper's measurement. From there it's just a lot of pinning and not going crazy when inserting the zipper.

Voo Doo Dolls

I'd been collecting fake hair samples and corsage pins for over a year now knowing that one day I wanted to make more voodoo stuff. And FINALLY I have gotten around to doing it!

I think the nipple rings were a nice touch.