HandMade Play Food

Save this Link

2008-12-28T13:00:00.003-05:00

I have had an etsy thread bookmarked for months and never went back to it until today when I was looking for another bookmark. It is a list of really amazingly helpful links to navigate etsy.com that you won't actually find on etsy. Make sense? Others have compiled a resource of tools and information here.

Great for both searching/shopping and for sellers =)

happy holidays!

2008-12-22T22:28:00.004-05:00

i made some ornaments for my tiny tree today!

they are so very handmade, arent they? i have presents for my family piled around the large sewing supply tin i have it perched upon, with a scrapbooking doily-looking embellishment paper as the "skirt". i found the perfect size string of lights at cvs for 99 cents maybe? i decided to try something different for gift wrap this year and decided to wrap three of my gifts in a few layers of a tissue paper vintage smock-like dress pattern ill never use, and used some natural colored cotton string with a simple handmade gift tag. i used the pattern's directions for another gift. i recycled two brown paper gift bags and some unused tissue paper to finish up the final two.

reminder : shipping deadline

2008-12-15T12:43:00.004-05:00

this was one of my favorite baskets i think? and a metal watering can.

so yep, the shipping deadline for this year is december 19th. anything ordered from my etsy shop [handmade.etsy.com] will be shipping after january 1, 2009.

my hands need a break. and i am really looking forward to enjoying this holiday season.

december 20th : mark your calendar

2008-12-07T16:55:00.001-05:00

for jackson

2008-12-03T11:21:00.002-05:00

sent out this special rush birthday delivery to a little boy in cincinnati. i love the bright royal blue as the backdrop for the colorful fruits and vegetables! happy birthday jackson!

handknit latte sweaters revisited

2008-11-27T19:48:00.007-05:00

happy thanksgiving!

now that the holiday shopping season is officially upon us, i would like to reintroduce the latte sweater as a marvelous little gift idea. i was amazed at how quickly these little beauties were snapped up at last weekends handmade market, so as i sit here, knitting some more, i thought i would remind everyone that these exist.

if you have a friend or co-worker or someone that is a regular coffee drinker who often uses take-out cups, you might consider giving them a handknit latte sweater to re-use instead of throwing away cardboard sleeves or double-cupping. i knit these with little bits of handspun and other bright, colorful yarns, and dress them up like little tea bags. see?

they dont have to be for lattes, just any warm drink, like hot chocolate or apple cider. they will keep your hand burn-free, are helpful for distinguishing which cup belongs to whom, and would make great little stocking stuffers =)

i love how they look in their little display box!

handmade's t-shirts, playfood and market sign

2008-11-25T21:28:00.001-05:00

handmade's t-shirts, playfood and market sign
Originally uploaded by clevelandhandmade

awesome photo that smashing took of my stuff at sundays handmade market.

Cleveland Handmade Market November 2008

2008-11-24T12:36:00.006-05:00

Cleveland Handmade Market November 2008
Originally uploaded by virtuallori

what a great group we have! the show was so much fun and sooo many people showed up! you can tell that i pretty much abandoned any thought of sleep the night before [too much to sew!] but it was worth it to spend time with these awesome ladies! thanks to everyone who came out and shopped! and thanks again to the awesome musicians who provided christmas music for us!

we made the IT list !!!

2008-11-18T18:00:00.004-05:00

the Cleveland Plain Dealer did an IT List of local holiday shows to find awesome gifts and things, and they totally included this sunday's cleveland handmade market! i hope this means we will get lots of eager shoppers =)

team treasury!

2008-11-15T21:11:00.003-05:00

on thursday etsy did a few live team trunk shows including one for the cleveland team! they even put a team treasury on the front page to spotlight some of the people featured in the trunk show as well as other members of the team. i was working at the coffee shop but popped in to make a few comments and say hello to all between making lattes and sandwiches =)

front page!

2008-11-11T16:01:00.004-05:00

i am so excited!
my carrots were put in a treasury that made the etsy front page today! what a cute bunch [harhar!]

mark your calendars!

2008-11-08T12:58:00.002-05:00

you may have noticed a new blue box to the left over there. see it? did you click it yet? you should! if you are in the cleveland area, you should totally stop at the Cleveland Handmade Market on sunday, november 23rd from 10a-4p. you can find all sorts of amazing handmade items for you or for the special people in your life. plus, i will be there, and coffee will be there, and we will have music playing by real live musicians, and a crackling fireplace to give it that extra cozy christmas feel. yay!

O City Pumpkin 2008

2008-11-04T15:35:00.002-05:00

saw this on my walk yesterday =)

the exact OPPOSITE of the McCain campaign

2008-11-02T11:30:00.002-05:00

this video makes me cry. it reminds me that there are some really thoughtful, good, honest, hard-working people out there who want a better life and deserve the opportunity to have their needs met and to live a healthy and happy life. i truly believe the Obama campaign wants that for people. i really dont think that john mccain is what this country needs. we need a uniter, not someone who divides us and has run a campaign based on smears, lies, and general misinformation.

remember to vote this tuesday if you havent already taken advantage of early voting!

So much for seperation of Church and State.

2008-10-28T11:18:00.002-04:00

A Mormon man named Joe Vogel wrote a very thought provoking and sincere article about California's Proposition 8, and how the Mormon Church has donated $19 million to try to help overturn the gay marriage amendment.

He says,

"With Proposition 8 it is time to stand for justice, not discrimination. It is time to stand for equality. It is time to be on the right side of history. Regardless of race, gender, or sexuality human beings are human beings and deserve to be treated as such. Today I voice my public support in favor of treating my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as equals, and ask my fellow Mormons to do the same."

The entire article is very informative on the history of some important milestones in the church and in the world - from the Equal Rights Amendment for women, to Race Equality, and more.
I often find myself wondering why some of the most religious people seem to judge and condemn others when I was under the impression that most religions teach love and forgiveness, plus that "Judge not lest thee be judged" or "let he who has never sinned cast the first stone" stuff. Those aren't the exact quotes, but I recall learning those lessons as a kid.

I especially do not understand why some people have issues with other people being gay. I am of the impression that gay people are born gay, and the only "choice" they have in the matter is whether or not to be honest about that. Often, we see people who choose to deny their inner most feelings and try to "turn" themselves straight because they are taught that being gay is "wrong". This just encourages closeted, dangerous behavior where people like Larry Craig try to solicit sex in an airport bathroom.

Anyway, this is where Vogel breaks it all down -

"So here we are, in 2008, and now the threat is gay people who are already gay, who love each other and in many cases live together, and want to get married. How does this hurt the average Mormon family?

If the concern really was the practical welfare of the family, perhaps the Church could instead invest its vast resources into making healthcare universal and affordable, expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act, cracking down on child predators, and improving the quality of our educational system. All of these issues have a direct impact on my family and millions of others.

You hear of marriages ruined all the time because of abuse, neglect, or stress over finances. But I have personally never heard of a divorce caused by another gay couple getting married.

Yet instead of focusing on issues that can really help nourish our families we obsess over a word. A word we refuse to share. A word that has never been perfectly fixed. There was a time, after all, when inter-racial marriage was just as taboo and illegal as gay marriage. Marriage has been many things, but the common ideal has been and should continue to be a relationship built on love and commitment.

So to my fellow Mormons: I ask you to please re-consider. Take the time you would spend fighting this errant cause with your family. Go to a movie. Take a drive together. Watch the World Series.

Maybe you don't completely understand homosexuality. Maybe you think it's a sin. But shouldn't we leave that to God and allow others to be who they are and make their own choices? As followers of Christ, isn't it always better to err on the side of compassion and love? "

When did "smart" become "elitist" and "bad"?

2008-10-18T13:11:00.003-04:00

Literacy is important. To bow to the word-fad of recent years: "literacy matters."

While I'm not suggesting that Palin can't read - she reads her teleprompter gamely enough - it's not the first piece of evidence to suggest that she's no great friend of the written word and it all points to an alarming lack of intellectual curiosity. (As does getting her first passport a year ago.) I'm not saying she's stupid, but intelligence without intellectual curiosity is a blind and reckless force at best.

Listen to the profoundly empty "Joe Six-Pack", "Hockey Mom" blather that she's injected into the campaign, as John McCain's designated culture weapon, and it's no wonder that the Republican Party is shedding intellectuals faster than Karl Rove sheds subpoenas.

As conservative columnist David Brooks of the New York Times pointed out, Palin is the latest "cancer" to result from the virulent strain of populist anti-intellectualism that has come to define the modern Right. With Parker, and then William F. Buckley Jr. both being tarred and feathered by their conservative brethren, simply for voicing dissenting opinions and now with Brooks coming as close to a outright endorsement of Obama today as he likely ever will (unless he wants to change his home address) - one has to wonder how we got to such a crazy place; a place so crazy that brains have become a wedge issue.

It didn't start out this way.

Once upon a time we had leaders who were both highly intelligent and intellectually curious. While our current president struggles with English, our Founding Fathers spoke four to five languages. They weren't just politicians but diplomats and inventors, scientists, authors and public intellectuals.

And they were, to a man, extremely well read.

In college, Thomas Jefferson often read fifteen hours a day - and he read important works in the original - as it was a given that, along with mathematics, history and philosophy, an educated person should know Latin, Greek and French. There was a crazy idea at the time that if you wanted to play a role in the affairs of the world, you should learn a thing or two about it first.
There was a time when America's leaders neither aspired to be average nor pretended to be. They weren't Joe Six-Pack (or more aptly - Josiah Six-Ale). They were the best among us. They were the elite. In fact, they were our leaders precisely because they were the best among us. And that kind of made sense.

There are a number of qualities essential to good leadership. Courage is important, to be sure, but a cool head and a firm hand are important as well. Knowledge both wide and deep and the judgment to wield it- wisdom in other words - is perhaps the most essential quality of all.
Plato talked about the "philosopher king" ...well we've had almost 8 years of an idiot-king who flew by the seat of his flightpants and it's nearly ruined us; leaving us mired in two wars abroad with quaking markets and a gaping deficit at home.

Now, in a highly touted "change" election, one party is running a former D student who himself admits to being hot-headed and impulsive, whose low-road campaigning has tarnished both the electoral process and his own reputation and whose political ideas become less credible with every emerging reality. As his running mate this man has, either recklessly or cynically, chosen a woman who believes instead of thinking, who knows little of the world and whose every tortured sentence is an affront to the logic of language itself.

Forget the White House. The only public building these people should be heading for is the library.

At the worst of times we need to turn to our best. So bring on the bookworms, bring on the deep-thinkers, bring on the leaders who make decisions with their minds and not with their guts or their bibles.

from the article Sarah Palin... If You Don't Read, You Don't Lead.

end "fat talk"

2008-10-14T18:07:00.002-04:00

"fat talk" means saying things like "do i look fat in this" and "you look good, did you lose weight?" and this short video talks about how there are more women in america with an eating disorder than with breast cancer. eating disorders and body image issues are a real problem for many women and we can change that by rethinking how we interact.

my thoughts exactly

2008-10-10T23:04:00.000-04:00

"If you are a woman who believes that every home should have an assault weapon, that government should have dominion over our bodies, that the future defender of our educational system has yet to have a child who made it past high school, that stem cell research is evil, that Adam and Eve kept pet dinosaurs, that shooting wolves from helicopters makes for a fun afternoon -- then by all means, vote for McCain-Palin.

But if you are voting because there is a woman on the ticket, then you have fallen for one of the cynically sexist scams in campaign history.

Palin is on the ticket because of the same triumph of allure over ability that has denied women opportunities for decades."

full article here.

hindsight is 20/20

2008-10-01T11:12:00.005-04:00

way back in february of this year, an attorney named sean olender wrote an article warning about the fannie/freddie bailout fiasco and it turns out, many, many others [like major economists] predicted just such a thing. at that time, no one was paying attention to the warnings because everyone was out spending their stimulus packages or something. if there is one thing our government really knows how to do, it is distract the public.

the original article can be found here. the following paragraph from the article really made me shake my head and sigh. can you believe it has come to this?

In support of the economic stimulus bill, Bush will have to face "working American families" and explain that some of their tax money is going to be spent guaranteeing $730,000 mortgages on $1 million homes. It's like some sort of upside-down communism where the poor pay the rich welfare. Why should taxes from families earning $48,000 a year be used to support expensive mortgages in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco? Welfare for the hungry and homeless is evil, but welfare for million-dollar homeowners facing a tough refi ... well, that's called "helping the economy."

If we're going to have a government-financed intervention, it should be to make sure that Social Security benefits go to those who paid for them, that the poor are fed and housed, or that the army of uninsured receive health benefits. If, as they say, we don't have enough money for those important things, then I think we don't have enough money to bail out banks and bond investors.

really, really think about it.

2008-09-29T16:47:00.006-04:00

at the risk of sounding preachy, i'm just going to put this out there.

i posted this as a response to something a girl said in a mutual friend's blog, but wanted to put this out there for other people to read and really think about...

can you imagine being a 14 year old girl who survived a brutal attack and rape, and being FORCED AGAINST YOUR WILL to carry your rapists baby and be reminded every day for NINE MONTHS of your horrible ordeal?

can you even freaking imagine what that would feel like?!

how is that not considered cruel and unusual punishment? why would anyone want to punish a victim of a horrific crime like that?!

it blows my mind that there are people out there who think this is acceptable. especially when one of them could potentially run our country.

john mccain and sarah palin want to overturn roe vs. wade.

sarah palin, in particular, is extremely anti-choice and believes there should be no abortion even in cases of rape and incest. no exceptions.

that kind of thinking is anti-woman!

we will never have equality when there are rules about what a woman can/cannot do with her body and not a man. not to get gross, but, if there was a law telling men they could never jerk off because it "wastes seed" that could potentially become life, they would never stand for it. i know it isnt the same thing exactly, but think about it - there is no law telling a man what he cant do like they want for women. thats just messed up!

if you are pro-choice, please vote for obama! dont let the right wingers take away more of our rights! and don't let mccain's talk of "returning the decision to the states" fool you, either. if that happens, almost 50% of the states would have an abortion ban.

dont punish the victims!

please dont support the republican presidential candidates decision to take away more of our rights.

the 's' word

2008-09-28T18:08:00.003-04:00

my dad always makes a face when talking about "the liberals wanting to socialize health care" but what he doesnt seem to understand is that, at this point, most of us would probably be better off with a socialized health care system - because at least then, they would HAVE to treat us all, for whatever is wrong.

they dont do that now, even if you have insurance. instead, they try to find any loop hole they can to charge you as much as possible to do as little as they can. that is disgusting. and for people without health coverage, which is an alarmingly large amount of people, your only hope to receive treatment is going to the emergency room.

i guess i am not the only one who was thinking, if they're going to socialize the losses, we'd better get something out of it.

this is an interesting piece about just that :

Yes, it takes a breathtaking level of chutzpah for Hank Paulson to bar as "punitive" any caps on Wall Street compensation or clawbacks of ill-gotten gains on the verge of an epic federal bailout. But Democrats would be foolish to fixate on payback when a bigger prize is at hand. They should tell Hank Paulson it's fine. Let the high rollers keep the loot they made wrecking the economy. We'll flog no fat cats in the public square. All is forgiven! In exchange, though, Mr. Secretary, we just want one thing: boost your $700 billion rescue to $800 billion and enact universal health coverage this week, too.

Welcome to the logic of the next American capitalism. Once upon a time -- about a week ago, actually -- insuring the uninsured was a pipe dream. Sure, Barack Obama had to talk about it to keep the lefties happy. But how could America stomach such a massive government intervention? Just thinking about it made one swoon from the deadly vapors of socialism. Plus, even if it was a good idea, how could a deficit-ridden nation begin to pay for such a thing?

How quaint such quibbles seem today! Now that we've socialized large chunks of the mortgage, banking and insurance industries -- with auto and airlines not far behind -- universal health coverage is among the most conservative initiatives left for America to pursue. And unlike finance -- where market principles plainly lead to disaster -- in health care, Democrats can throw sulky conservative ideologues a bone. Just give the uninsured vouchers with which they can buy decent coverage from among competing private health plans. Toss in a couple of rules to assure that insurers can't discriminate against the sick (a far lighter federal hand than Republicans will shortly be proposing for tomorrow's banks). Presto! We have "market-friendly" universal health coverage.

Whaddya say, Hank? Amortized over thirty years -- like a mortgage, say -- the extra ten percent or so added to your rescue package is peanuts. This deal lends the perfect patina of justice to a scheme that would otherwise be pure socialism for the rich. It can bring the bipartisan spirit we need to muscle through this crisis together. Best of all, it lets fallen financiers sleep better in the knowledge that their plunder ultimately served a cause greater than self. Or as they say on Wall Street nowadays: "Country first!"

playing catch up

2008-09-28T17:41:00.003-04:00

i have been cheating on this blog a bit and posting elsewhere, but, i thought i would try to play catch up a bit with what's been on my mind...

the video of the witch hunting pastor is SO creepy!

i love keith saying "yeah, we've moved on from this in salem, ma 320 years ago, there's a reason for that..."

---

this article here is pretty interesting and full of little known details that should be out there for all to see.

"Welcome to the final stages of the coup..."

highlights include -

"The Bush family, in the form of Prescott Bush, has tried a more aggressive coup before in order to install fascism in this country. This treasonous plot was called "the Business Plot," because the high-level plotters - including Prescott Bush - were Wall Street men who openly supported fascism.

It seems this time around, the Bush family is trying the more subtle approach to open bloodshed: first create a crisis, then under the guise of addressing that crisis, overthrow democracy. Yes, it does sound terribly conspiracy-theory-esque when explained just this way. But what else does one call a criminal conspiracy to destroy Congressional powers permanently, alter Judicial powers permanently, and steal public funds?"

and

"Put your party politics aside right now. We are in a crisis so dangerous that should these people succeed in their coup, your party affiliation will no longer matter, your American flag will be a nice collectible item of something that once was, and your version of God will be worshiped in secrecy because your freedoms will be owned by the few.

You are no longer Republicans, Democrats, or any shade of voter. You do not live in a swing state or a solid colored state. You are simply this: an American. That is the only side that matters. So call your members of Congress and demand, no, declare that unless they do their duty to the Constitution and to us, we will move to the streets - not because we want to, but because our founding fathers demanded this duty of each and every citizen in the face of such a domestic enemy. Demand - as is your right - that this bill be voted against and demand - as is your right - that the people plotting this treachery be held to account. We are either a nation of laws or we are no longer a democracy. Pick a side, because there won't be another time, another moment, another chance to be a patriot."

trampoline damage

2008-09-25T15:16:00.001-04:00

trampoline damage
Originally uploaded by nicki s

poor trampoline.

This concerns you.

2008-09-21T16:50:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the final stages of the coup...

full article here

highlights include -

and

still not convinced?

2008-09-19T17:20:00.002-04:00

here is a visual representation of the McCain tax plan VS the Obama tax plan

Once pro-Obama, but now swoon for McPalin?

2008-09-19T15:15:00.005-04:00

White women, no way / Once pro-Obama, but now swoon for McPalin? Who the hell are you?

By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
Friday, September 19, 2008

Every white woman I know is positively horrified.

Wait, that's not exactly true. It's more accurate to say that every thoughtful or liberal or intuitive or open-minded white woman I know worth her vagina monologue and her self-determination and two centuries of nonstop striving for equal rights and sexual freedom and exhaustive patriarchal unshackling is right now openly horrified, appalled at what the addition of shrill PTA hockey-mom Sarah Palin seems to have done for the soggy, comatose McCain campaign -- that is, make it not merely remotely interesting and melodramatic, but aggressively hostile to, well, to all intelligent women everywhere.

Truly, among women in the know and especially among those who fought so hard to bring Hillary Clinton to the brink of history, nausea and a general recoiling appear to be the universal reactions to Palin's sudden presence on the national stage, stemming straight from the idea that there's even a slight chance in hell such an antagonistic, anti-female politico could be within a 72-year-old heartbeat of becoming the most powerful and iconic woman of all time.

They say: You've got to be kidding me. They say: This is what we get? This could be our historic role model? Two hundred years (OK, more like 2000) of struggle, only to have this nasty caricature of femininity try to hijack and mock and undermine it all?

It cannot be true, they say. The universe must joking, would not dare dump such a homophobic, Creationist evangelical nutball on us, this anti-choice, God-pandering woman who's the inverse of Hillary, this woman of deep inexperience who abhors birth control and supports abstinence education and shoots exhausted wolves from helicopters and hates polar bears and actually stands for everything progressive women have resented since the first pope Swift-Boated Eve.

But now, the truly bizarre part. Despite this defiant outcry, a great many pundits and reports have suggested that, just after the Palin VP announcement, a sizable chunk of predominantly white women nevertheless abandoned their tentative support for Obama and leapt into the lyin' arms of McCain, presumably simply because of Palin's gender and PTA momhood.

And thus did the harrowing wail go out: WTF? Could it be true? Are cadres of formerly Obama-leaning white women really so enchanted by Palin's gender and motherhood status that they openly ignore the fact that she basically wants to shove women's rights back about five decades? Can it be so simple, crude, sad?

Let us analyze. Let me, being a straight white male and therefore only capable of gazing in awe at the spectacle that is the indecipherable female intuitive response, foolishly attempt to decipher some of it anyway, and explain why in hell some women might jump to Palin, despite the fact that she essentially hates them. Shall we begin?

"She's one of us." This was the resounding quote from many deer-in-the-Palin-headlights fans, a bizarre, dangerous sentiment that echoes the blue-collar Midwest's blind love of George W. Bush, simply because he came across as the kind of simple-minded aw-shucks guy you'd want to have a beer with, never you mind that giant silver spoon sticking out of his mouth or that giant daddy's-boy chip on his droopy shoulders.

Is this all it is? Does "one of us" merely mean white women really believe Palin could, if McCain didn't survive his first term, effectively lead the most powerful, flawed, complicated nation on the planet merely because she's a hard-workin' mom with moxie, that she's managed to raise a gaggle of strangely named kids who hunt and don't believe in evolution and get pregnant before they're old enough to buy a pack of Marlboros?

Or does it mean they agree with Palin about not giving a damn for equal pay, or honest sex education, or separation of church and state, or alternative energy, or a woman's right to choose, or their own daughters' rights if they get knocked up after being raped or incested? Nah, that can't be it.

Maybe we're just not used to seeing the female voting demographic depicted this way. Truly, it's usually men who are the knuckleheaded ones, who will flip their vote merely over a single inconsequential issue ("I like everything about Obama except he supports gun control, and I love my guns, so I guess I gotta go for McCain"). Women, according to the eternal mythology, are no such dupes, and choose more wisely, from deeper intuition, instinct. Right?

Wrong. Maybe this is our simple summary, the blaring headline we should be reading in the wake of recent events. "Easily duped Palin supporters prove: Some white women are just as dumb as men." Is that all it is? Maybe so.

Ah, but there is good news. It appears the bloom is already off the McPalin rose, the baby bump she gave McCain is already gone, as everyone from here to Wasilla is sick to death of hearing about her. Every day that goes by it comes clearer that the Sarah juggernaut is no juggernaut at all but merely an increasingly disturbing PR stunt, and a bit of a disgrace for John McCain himself, whose once-noble aura of integrity and class has essentially vanished.

A potent backlash is coming fast. Actually, it began almost immediately, just after the Republican National Convention, when the GOP cheerfully announced they'd raised a whopping one million bucks in the 24 hours following Palin's speech, so inspired was the heavily drugged conservative base by her teleprompter-reading skills (she didn't write a single word of her own speech, of course; it came from a former Bushite, well before she was the VP pick).

Well, gosh. Really? A million? Wow.

But then Obama's campaign issued a statement of their own. Turns out they'd raised a bit money in the exact same time frame, a rather impressive outpouring of cash from all those on the left who could be heard screaming "oh my God no way in hell" to their TV screens as Palin's finger jabbed at the heart of all that's right and good with the world. The amount Obama raised in the same 24 hours? $10 million. Well now.

How much of that staggering amount came from the newly galvanized, infuriated female populace from the left who see right through Palin's shrill charade and damn well recognize an imposter in their midst, it's impossible to tell. But I think it's a damn safe bet to assume, they are legion.

And let me tell you, they are pissed.

comment/email Mark here

we needz ur dollarz 2 save bitch

2008-09-17T15:52:00.002-04:00

grapes!

2008-09-13T01:03:00.003-04:00

i have been working on a custom project that i will blog about when i have more photos to share.

in the mean time, i will give you a peek at some grapes i have been working on,

a package i am sending out,

and a new recycled paper notebook i made and listed in the shop today!

the grapes are extra special because they are sewn completely by hand =)

clevelandhandmade.com

2008-09-10T16:26:00.003-04:00

make sure you check out the clevelandhandmade.com page and read the artist interview for fellow Clevelander/Etsy artist SaraKate!

do you knit? are you on ravelry?

2008-09-02T20:40:00.005-04:00

wow. if you are a knitter and are currently beta-testing the ravelry site, you must check out this amazing hat by a 7 year old knitter named spencer. his mom helped cast on and pick up a few dropped stitches, but, he did most of the work himself and did a wonderful job! if you get a chance, please leave a comment to let him know what a nice job he did!

i love my gold 13s

2008-09-01T17:30:00.002-04:00

i used them to knit a lovely purple-blue scarf for nicole as a late birthday present to give her this weekend while she was in town. i called it the windy city scarf and hope she gets much use out of it in chicago. it seemed the perfect time to live up to my promise of showering her with poorly constructed knitware. lol.

coffee cup cozy, anyone?

2008-08-28T22:25:00.001-04:00

my fondness for all things coffee related intensified until i found myself watching youtube videos of amazing baristas who create latte art. i decided then and there that i wanted to work a little side job at a coffee shop until i could rightfully add "barista" to my list of skillz.

of course, being around all of that delicious smelling espresso makes me daydream of crafty things like coffee cup cozies, which are more sustainable than throwing away cardboard sleeves which people use to protect their hands from the hot hot coffee. i started knitting a batch of cup cozies with some of the handspun yarn that etsy spinstress banadura spun for me a few months ago. i am super happy with how cute they have come out and am slowly adding them to my etsy shop.

p.s. i do not work for caribou or starbucks, just for the record. i work for a small independently owned shop on the west side and everyone there is wonderful! i did, however, cheat on them today and go to a chain for a campfire mocha. shhh! don't tell!

holiday notebooks

2008-08-28T00:27:00.003-04:00

i added some holiday themed recycled paper notepads to my etsy shop. they have various christmas and holiday greetings inside that i typed with my old typewriter. they say things like "happy holidays!" and "merry christmas" as well as "bah humbug." and "warm wishes this holiday season". i thought they might be fun to send people instead of or in addition to holiday cards as a fun, different kind of holiday greeting. they are also cute little stocking stuffers, office gifts, and can be personalized for pretty much any occasion.

august appeared out of no where

2008-08-10T10:22:00.003-04:00

hello hello!

i have finally caught up on all of my pre and post moving etsy sales, so everything purchased has been sent, and is officially on the way to the purchaser. this is an enormous relief to me, because i really don't like getting behind with all of that stuff!

anyhoozle, i have added some new things to the shop, including new HandMade Recycled NotePads with some really fun covers, and some old zines i wrote and independently published back in the day, aka, what feels like forever ago but is actually only maybe 7 or 8 years ago. rereading these old stories makes me feel both like a totally different person, and also like im still twenty and have all the hope in the world. [i wish!]

ch-ch-check it out, if you are so inclined.

only 3 days left to vote

2008-08-03T00:09:00.002-04:00

for photos to be in the next jpg magazine.
my entry for the geometry category is here.

top 10 worst foods

2008-07-29T16:46:00.001-04:00

should be obvious, but, judging by the carts i see around me every time i go to the grocery store, i guess it isnt.

boats

2008-06-29T17:37:00.001-04:00

boats
Originally uploaded by nicki s

looked so pretty i almost forgot it was lake erie ;)

bee there

2008-06-28T12:11:00.001-04:00

bee there
Originally uploaded by nicki s

omg. i must see this!

awesome!

2008-06-14T14:45:00.004-04:00

i am in temporary limbo while my housing situation is sorted out. in the mean time i am taking many photographs, writing creatively a bit, and making the most out of life living out of boxes.

i saw this today which i think is absolutely brilliant and true. it IS. it never goes away! it reminded me of the time that my friend kimberley accidentally hit me in the head with a big tub of glitter at a thrash show and busted my eyebrow open. it was not the first time i have split open an eyebrow, which should be obvious from the luke perry-esque right brow i sport. where was i going with this? ah yes. loz ives : you are awesome.

p.s. that is the same font i used for my infamous FAT BOYS t-shirt.

find scout

2008-06-03T13:10:00.001-04:00

find scout
Originally uploaded by nicki s

in the ohio city area. keep an eye out, k?

keith concar : project walk

2008-05-06T18:15:00.001-04:00

In March 2006, Keith Concar seized the opportunity to travel with a group from his Ohio based church, to Louisiana, to volunteer in the efforts to rebuild after hurricane Katrina. After spending only a week with the people who had been so devastated by the destruction, he make a decision to quit his job, move to Louisiana, and spend the next six months helping them put the pieces of their lives back together. A local church loaned him a mobile trailer, which he would share with another volunteer, calling it home for the next few months. While in route to a job site on July 29th 2006, a vehicle pulled in front of Keith causing him to wreck his motorcycle. As a volunteer and self-employed contractor, Keith did not have health insurance. Keith suffered a broken back and severe spinal cord damage which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

“Spinal cord injuries destroy lives.

They leave individuals physically damaged and without hope. Eventually, many find themselves emotionally ruined, with broken minds and shattered spirits. In a split second, this traumatic injury forever changes the course of a normal life, instantaneously sweeping away dreams and futures. It happens at the hands of a drunk driver, in the midst of a gang shooting, in a freak accident at work, or while taking part in sports. And it can happen to anybody, without regard for race, gender, age or economic status. In the seconds prior to a spinal cord injury, these people could walk, feed themselves, go to the bathroom, control their body temperature and feel pleasure. Suddenly, the most basic functions are gone. Now they can’t eat on their own and must depend on someone else to help them go to the bathroom. The dynamics of normal living are gone without any hope of ever regaining them. No one is ever prepared for the road ahead.”

The journey to recovery has been a long, slow and painful process. Over the last year and a half, Keith has made tremendous progress. However, he is still unable to walk and must rely on the help of others and the use of a wheelchair. Keith has undergone months of standard rehabilitation therapy, covered by Medicaid, which has tried to teach him how to live independently with his handicap.

Keith has always possessed a determined personality and therefore knew that there must be “something” more than just learning to live as a paraplegic. He started researching spinal cord centers and other recovery facilities that focused in teaching injured individuals to learn to walk again... That is when he found Project Walk!

“Through the dedication of the staff and the support of donors, Project Walk helps give people with spinal cord injuries the independence, hope, and dreams that were lost as a result of this devastating reality. Every day the clients continue to prove that a spinal cord injury does not always mean life in a wheelchair and that recovery is possible.”

Keith has been accepted by the facility as an ideal candidate for recovery through Project Walk. However, Project Walk is not covered by Medicaid and without medical insurance; the unlikelihood of being able to afford to enter into the program is discouraging.
So his family and friends are asking you to PLEASE HELP KEITH WALK!

A little donation from a lot of people will get Keith to Project Walk!

If just 1000 people commit to a small donation, we can send Keith to Project walk for ONE YEAR and help him regain his life!!!!!

DONATE NOW at www.keithconcarprojectwalk.org

2008-05-04T11:38:00.006-04:00

hello!

I am currently amazed by the show "Deadliest Catch" which is now in it's fourth season. My friend's brother was watching it the other day and I happened to catch a few minutes of it, and instantly, I was hooked. I needed to know more about it, so I've been catching up while I knit. I've been re-learning to knit the right way and I understand so much more now!

What else? Oh!

Last night the Cleveland Indians played Kansas City and my mom and I were fortunate enough to get free tickets to watch it. It rained on and off all day, up until an hour or so before the game was scheduled to start. When we got downtown and parked, it was sunny and beautiful, so we popped into the Harry Buffalo for dinner and by the time we were finished, it was raining again. We made our way over to the stadium anyway and collected our free CC Sabathia bobbleheads as we entered the gates. The game was delayed by about an hour and a half, while the fans tried to stay dry.

We saw a trio of men with instruments entertaining the crowd, especially this little girl. They played "This old man" to her while she danced with her dad. It was super cute!

We spent the waiting time walking around, sipping beer, and shopping a bit. Mom bought herself a new hoodie, which gave us a voucher for yet more free tickets to another game! Hopefully we can make the game next Saturday for fleece blanket night. Free stuff is so awesome!

Finally the game started, and the players took the field.

At one point a random guy appeared near our section, and tried getting all of us to start the wave. We did it, but, it died out pretty quickly. It was pretty fun anyway!

We didn't stay the entire game, because it was getting pretty cold, and we got tired.

bzzzt!

2008-04-30T20:47:00.003-04:00

i am facinated by these bees.

this is the other set of boxes a few yards away

knitters? please advise.

2008-04-14T09:47:00.004-04:00

I took a short break from knitting and started up again about a month or so ago. I decided to make a long, skinny red scarf with the "Annoying Rollerderby Chick" yarn I got from banadura and really like the way it came out. The photos I took of it are horrendous, but I love the scarf and that's all that matters.

I taught screen printing on Saturday to three awesome ladies and during our down time [waiting for screens to dry] we talked about our other crafty endeavors, including knitting/crochet. As some of you may know, one of my students, StrawberryLemonade, has both knit and crochet skillz! I have tried to crochet, and can start it off alright, but not actually join anything together without making one big knot.

Anyway, it was really nice to talk to people who feel the same way about art and work and things of that nature. I know, how vague, right? It was good though, and that's that.

So I watched the movie "Happy Endings" last night, and I love Maggie G. as an actress and the movie itself was pretty good. I wanted to try knitting in the round again and actually got the tension right on my first try this time! I happily knit and knit through the movie and when it was over I had the 4-5 inches that I needed before being able to decrease my stitches, and realized that my "hat" was probably wide enough to make a tube sweater bra or something. Not at all what I was going for, obviously, but what the heck?! I totally cast on 58 stitches like the general easy beginner hat pattern told me to! Arg. I am going to have to consult some of my etsy team knit pros to figure out how many I should try when I get this baby all unraveled!

I just measured the base of the hat, and it is a whopping 43 inches wide! My head is only about 21-22 inches! Eek. Help! I need to brush up on the math involved in knitting I guess?

2008-04-11T14:25:00.002-04:00

it's friiiiidaaaay! it is also beautiful outside. i was a bit worried that i would have to spend my 45 minute walk with tucker in the pouring rain today, but it was warm and sunny and perfect, so i took some photos. i have also decided that being a dog walker is the bomb. yeah, i said "the bomb". have a good weekend!

it's that time again

2008-04-10T09:49:00.002-04:00

I am teaching a class this Saturday at Silverthorne on one-color screen printing! Yay! I drove to Coventry yesterday to purchase the screens and a few other last minute supplies, and look forward to seeing what ideas my students came up with!

2008-04-03T12:33:00.002-04:00

the weather has been really sunny, and a bit warmer, so heidi and i have been taking longer, and more frequent, walks. i am suprised by the number of abandoned toy pieces i have been seeing, on sidewalks, in parking lots, on the grass.

etsy love

2008-03-30T10:10:00.003-04:00

here are some of my purchases from etsy artisans.

L-R : the smashing earrings were actually purchased at a craft show in bay, but her work is on etsy. tilly bloom finch earrings that i love but am afraid to wear because my right ear sometimes rejects earrings - even silver ones - and these are so light that i keep finding one on the floor! i love them anyway. jacqueline knits apple jackets! blue shed crafts brown and green dachshund hat. she custom knit an awesome blue and orange one for me to give matthew for christmas! much love to all of these etsy artists!

happy saturday

2008-03-29T11:31:00.003-04:00

the sun is shining and i am happily snapping photos of some things ive been working on. i just had a delicious cup of tea and am going to take heidi for a nice long walk. have a good weekend everyone!

notepads continued.

2008-03-24T15:07:00.003-04:00

i made some more matchbook notepads today and they look so lovely together!

i also typed up some little messages to tuck inside some of them and many photos later, they were ready to list in the shop. i hope they find good homes!

i sent a prototype home with nicole the other day and she said her mom loved it when she showed it to her. i made up a floral printed one for her to give to her mom, and she almost didn't want to let go of it. aw! i don't know which one to feel bad for, but i guess nicole felt guilty and came off of it eventually. her mom loves it, so yay! spreading the crafty recycled love all over northeast ohio.

recycled notepads

2008-03-22T20:05:00.000-04:00

hello hello

2008-03-22T10:17:00.002-04:00

heidi and i saw a squirrel while out walking this bright, sunny morning, and she, of course, totally spazzed out and wanted to get it. it was pretty funny watching her run circles around the tree trunk while the squirrel just perched on his little branch and ate his snack, knowing he could not be reached. i tried taking some video, but mostly she just tangled me up in the leash.

recycled fabric pretties

2008-03-17T12:20:00.006-04:00

i made some pin cushions! or pincushions. or soft sculptures. or paper weights. or pretty desk items. or recycled fabric pretties. or whatever you want to call them. i will probably experiment and make some more. i did a lot of cutting of fabric scraps the other day, which resulted in something like this :

i love seeing them all laid out like that! it makes me want to quilt, until i think about how totally complicated and involved quilting is, and then i just put it all away.

cleveland international film festival

2008-03-16T19:29:00.001-04:00

I saw this today at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Afterwards there was a short Q & A with the director and two of the three brothers. It was really good, and oddly familiar.
My mom really enjoyed it too, and even bought one of the silkscreens Davey Noble printed in Cleveland for the occasion.

dog cookies!

2008-03-13T22:20:00.006-04:00

tonight i decided to bake some dog cookies. heidi loves them! i gave some to my neighbor and will give some to klaus. this is the recipe that i made up after looking over various recipes i saw online.

HandMade HappyDog Cookies

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup butter

1/8 cup bacon grease*

1 cup boiling water

3/4 cup cornmeal

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/4 cup soy milk

4 oz (1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese

1 egg, beaten

2 - 3 cups whole wheat flour

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease cookie sheets.

In large bowl, combine rolled oats, butter, bacon grease, and boiling water; let stand 10 minutes.

Stir in cornmeal, sugar, chicken stock, soy milk, cheese and egg; mix well.

Add flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form a stiff dough.

On floured surface, knead in remaining flour until dough is smooth and no longer sticky.

Roll or pat out dough to 1/2 inch thickness, cut with bone shaped cookie cutter. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter as well to get larger cookies, and baked them slightly longer.

Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. Feel free to lightly baste with additional chicken stock if desired, or sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top before baking for variation.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely.

Store loosely covered. If they start to get moist, leave them uncovered so they get crispy.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen large dog biscuits or 8 dozen small dog biscuits.

*If you don't have bacon grease, use a total of 1/3 cup butter.

peep!

2008-03-12T11:57:00.002-04:00

the obsession continues. i need to go to the craft or hardware store maybe and get some stuff that i can preserve these little babies with. i ate one blue bunny that had weirdo crooked eyes but only after photographing him and i sort of wish i had kept him around. i really like these guys on the lime background. yay! peewee is chirping [peeping?] happily to some world music style stuff they are playing on college radio. he is very cultured.

speaking of Peeps...

2008-03-11T21:32:00.003-04:00

I did a little Peep photo shoot today and made some new Easter greeting cards!

I thought they would make a great new addition to my etsy shop, so I added a few tonight and will add the rest over the next day or so. Peeps are so adorable and colorful and I just couldn't resist buying a few packages. I don't even want to eat them, I just want to shellac them or something and put them in display cases. I am silly!

Marshmallow Peeps Lollipops

2008-03-10T22:36:00.001-04:00

Marshmallow Peeps Lollipops
Originally uploaded by robothand

I have yet to see these in real life, but seeing them in someone's flickr stream made me gasp. i dont necessarily like to eat peeps but i do have a fascination with them and think theyre super cute. peeps pops, though, are kind of a weird concept. waste of plastic what?

good morning!

2008-03-10T09:09:00.002-04:00

the sun is shining [just barely, but it's trying!] and my car is free of the 3-4 foot snow wall that was surrounding it for most of the weekend. peewee is chirping happily, and i am drinking jasmine tea and looking forward to a productive week. expect some bean bag banana photos soon!

random thoughts at midnight

2008-03-09T17:27:00.001-04:00

it was weird seeing amy adams hosting SNL and being all famous and shiz now. i remember meeting her when i worked for XFX and she was doing an episode of smallville which required her to get all made up and into a fat suit. she was still blonde when she arrived at our special effects shop in burbank with her yoga mat in tow. hm. weird.

heidi and the snow

2008-03-08T10:34:00.004-05:00

I'm obviously not leaving the house today... the car is trapped, and the visibility is pretty terrible. On the plus side, the snow is sparkly and pretty to look at from the warm living room I am now sitting in, drinking apricot tea.

I also put up a new listing in the ol' etsy shop :
The Rainbow Sprinkles Playset. Yay!

another snowy weekend

2008-03-07T17:24:00.003-05:00

yet another blizzard is upon us today in northeast ohio, so i decided to make some belly warming pasta. i pretty much improvised the recipe, because it seemed easy enough to just wing it.

i had some morning star farms starter tofu crumbles in the freezer, so i put some olive oil in a pan and cooked a few pieces of onion and some garlic in it until they were nice and aromatic. i added the tofu crumbles, and "browned" it, even though it was already brown. so i guess i should say that i heated it up, and then added the leftover tomato basil marinara i had. meanwhile, i was also boiling the penne, and sliced some fresh mozarella balls that i had in the fridge in a little tub with olive oil and herbs. once my pasta was ready, i layered some sauce, then some grated parmesan, then some frozen spinach, then some pasta, then some more sauce, and the mozarella halves on top. i used my special little green dish that holds enough for 2-3 people. some of the cheese bubbled over the side. it took about twenty-five minutes or so in a 350 degree oven, and came out really well.

ice storm!

2008-03-05T00:06:00.004-05:00

hello!

it is time for a quick update.

i made some smallish brightly colored cards that are roughly the size of moo cards, but obviously much simpler.

i love the colors and wanted something besides my moos to hand out and attach to things. i think these will work quite nicely for now.

i took heidi out for our evening walk a little while ago, and the trees were all covered with ice! the sidewalks were thick and frozen over with snow that would crunch and sink if you stomped really hard or jumped just so. it was a very interesting texture and i snapped some photos of the ice trees because they looked so pretty.

i tried taking some video of the interesting crunching noises the branches made when the wind blew, but all i could hear on the audio was the strong wind against the microphone and a man whistling in the background.

first aceo ever

2008-02-28T12:29:00.003-05:00

So this is the first ACEO [art card, editions and originals] I have conciously created. I know that I have done several little collages or drawings or what have you that would fall into the ACEO category previously, but, not knowing that it could be called such a thing. Anyway, now I do, and I have created this one this morning. I am pretty random. It can be found in my etsy shop if you would like to give it a special home [because everybody deserves one!].

PeeWee loves Belle and Sebastian

2008-02-26T16:30:00.000-05:00

yay!

I printed at the Warhol!

2008-02-24T10:36:00.008-05:00

My brothers and I went to Pittsburgh on Saturday. [click for the full photoset]

We drove around the city and found this little square of what looked like cute little cafes, a coffee and tea shop, and so on. We even found a parking space, so we parked and walked to the coffee and tea place. It was adorable, and had all of the teas you could ever want! Plus, they had biscuits and cookies and biscotti and tons of coffee roasts and it smelled heavenly in there. Two nice students were working and they told us that the city, in general, is pretty dead on Saturdays. What kind of city IS this, we wondered?!

We walked across the street to City Cafe to find something to eat, and there was a "back in ten minutes" sign on the door. We stood out front, looking at the signs. I liked the look of Buon Giorno. Finally, a grey haired man popped his head outside and told us we were a disgrace drinking coffee out of paper cups. At first we thought he was just messing with us, but then he went off on a tirade about how we might as well throw them on the ground and that our kids were going to get cancer from all the waste we produce and blah blah blah... He was a total jerk, and after telling him so, we left.

We drove around some more, and decided to find the Andy Warhol Museum. We got there around 1pm, and by the time we were leaving the place had become quite full. I definitely recommend going early in the day because after 2pm the lines are long and the crowd is plentiful. We wandered through the gift shop and down to the cafe. After a peak down a hallway I spotted a PhotoBooth! Bryan headed over to investigate and I snapped some photos of a workshop going on. You are not allowed to take photos of the exhibits, but I was itching to photograph SOMETHING besides the outside of the building. As it turns out, they have these projects that the public can work on that simulate some of Andy's processes on Saturday afternoons. Our options for the day were pen and ink drawings with muted watercolors - which looked cool, but, not when we had the option to screen print! It got me really excited for my upcoming classes, and gave me some new ideas. There were three screen options - cat, dog, and rabbit. Bryan and Matt printed cats, and I went for the rabbit. I was feeling Easter Bunny love, so, I went to town cutting and`pasting brightly colored paper inside the pencil lines I had drawn using the bunny shaped stencil they had. You were to trace the general outline so you knew where to put the cut up paper and where to line up the screen. It was pretty cool seeing people of all ages using safety scissors and Elmer's glue and concentrating and pulling the squeegee of ink and waiting for the girls holding them to nod and help them peel away their new artwork. I snapped several photos of that room, and loved the photo of one of Andy's dachshunds. I learned that he had two of them at one point. Their sweaters and things were in a display case in one of the rooms. Aw.

I took some video of two diy drummers outside of the Penguin's game, which had just let out. Fans in brightly colored jerseys poured into the streets and kept mobbing through our green lights so we could not cross.

On the drive home, we saw a beautiful candy colored sky.

It's official.

2008-02-22T13:34:00.002-05:00

My screen printing classes are now on the calendar for Silverthorne Gallery/Grand River Beads!

I now have one and two-day classes scheduled through the beginning of May. There are 2 one-day classes on March 8th & 9th from 9am-4pm. There will be a break for lunch during the one day classes while we wait for our screens to dry. I anticipate being done before 4pm, but you never know. I also have one and two-day classes in April. I'm not sure which people will be more likely to sign up for, but I am really excited to teach people to print!

I treated myself to a late breakfast of huevos rancheros at Borderline Cafe today and read about the upcoming Cleveland Film Festival. There are some panel discussions on filmmaking that I am planning on attending, and hopefully, taking some inspiration from. I did a stop motion animation project last year and plan on working on a short this summer, so I'd like to learn some more about the process and finishing, funding, etc. I'm not worried about editing, as I was quite good at editing in school - I just need to get to that point first!

new banner time again!

2008-02-21T19:29:00.005-05:00

I changed my shop and blog banner again today. I just wasn't satisfied with the other one, so I went for a simpler, cleaner look, with one of my favorite fonts. What do you think?

Some geeky/awesome things to mention :

I am stoked for the new Dancing with the Stars cast. I watched the last season and got hooked! It is silly and I didn't think I'd ever be into a show like this, but I am. Ha!

I will be teaching a One Color Screen Printing Class at Silverthorne Gallery/Grand River Beads in March. I could potentially teach a class before the end of February, but for now I will plan on Saturday/Sunday classes next month. Day 1 [Saturday] will be 2-3 hours of setting up the screen and burning an image onto it. Day 2 [Sunday] will be up to 2 hours of mixing and placing and printing and heat setting. The cost will be $125 per student and the class description should be available on their website and at the gallery in paper versions soon. If anyone has questions about the class, feel free to contact me.

I watched the Darjeeling Limited the other day with my friend Nicole and it was AWESOME and beautiful and reminded me of the trip to India that Matthew and Elliot and I always talk about taking. If my traincar was guaranteed to be decorated with Marc Jacobs and gorgeous teal colored wallpaper, then I'd be hard pressed to leave it!

Addicted to Craft

2008-02-12T16:33:00.000-05:00

I should mention my February Special :

A $3 off Addicted to Craft t-shirt discount for Etsy ShopKeepers.

To receive the $3 off just mention your etsy shop name in the notes at checkout and wait to pay until I send you a revised invoice from Paypal. This is good for any of my Addicted to Craft t-shirts.

I have them available in two styles - a bold font and a cursive script.

There are several sizes and colors listed in my etsy shop.

If you don't see your size, ask about a custom print.

I will also be teaching a printing class soon and should have dates/times available in my next blog!

Whores Not Wars

2008-02-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

This is a touchy subject for many people. The imagery invokes many emotions and thoughts and, believe it or not, there are many messages in this design. I'm not going to go breaking it all down for you though, because I don't like what happens when you do that. It's like disecting a passage in a body of literature until it's meaningless, or telling a joke and then explaining the punchline - what's the point? And to be clear - I'm not comparing the design to great works of literature or a joke. I'm just saying, either you get it, or you don't. If you don't, what can I do? I am of the "if you don't like it, don't look at it" way of thinking, and I think war is ineffective and inhumane. I'm not "dissing the troops" or "being unAmerican" by stating my [freedom of speech] opinion or for thinking that prostitution should be legal and that sex work should be regulated like any other service industry job, and so on. I didn't even mean to say that much, but there, I've said it.

In the year [and two months] that I have had a shop on Etsy, I have never, until last week, received an angry message questioning the intentions behind the design. Previously, the only problem most people had with it was the racy image of the scantily clad lady. I expected the possibility that families involved in the military may misunderstand the wording to be negative towards them, which is also not the case. But in the last two weeks, I have had two people contact me via etsy to ask what, exactly, was so "feminist" about the word "whore".

There are many waves of feminism, as there are with things like punk, ska, and so on. There was a movement, the riot grrrls, in the 90s. Look it up? Zines, music, all that. It made a big impact on me, and who I am, and how I feel about stuff. It's why I care about issues and what's happening in the world and the quality of food that I eat and why I read and learn all I can. I also believe in getting people to talk about this stuff, in encouraging thought and radical ideas and brainstorming ideas of how to really change things for the better. It's why I am not satisfied pretending all is well and living the cookie cutter life that society tries to set out for me because I want something more. It's why I don't want to spend the majority of my waking life doing something I loathe.

Anyway, having people ask me about it on etsy and feeling like the EtsyKids group doesn't want me to be part of their team because of my t-shirts makes me question whether I should start a new shop with t-shirts so I don't offend the moms that might buy my toys, or just keep being me and doing what I do.

I have had a mom buy a WNW t-shirt for herself and a basket for her kid. I have had a woman buy a WNW t-shirt to send her husband, a soldier in Iraq, and another one for herself. I never know how someone is going to respond or take it, and that's ok. It is supposed to make you think, but it also makes ME think about people, and how they aren't always as open-minded as I think they should be.

I guess that's all I have to say for now.

following up.. and quinoa.

2008-02-06T22:58:00.000-05:00

A fellow Clevey posted this link about plastic bags to a website called Unclutterer. There are many great comments there, and great information. I thought this was particularly interesting -

Incorporating at least one reuseable bag into your lifestyle for one year replaces 300 to 700 disposable bags.

Depending on the size, the average reuseable bag can hold the contents of 2 to 3 plastic grocery bags.

So... quinoa.

I was looking around for recipes to use up the quinoa I bought at Trader Joe's a while back, and found this one for Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Jalapeno Papaya Sauce. Sounds indulgent, right? I'm not quite brave enough to try it just yet, but will keep it on the back burner for future reference. In the mean time, I'll keep looking. I remember seeing one once involving honey and soy milk as a breakfast belly warming treat, so I'm going to have to find that! To be continued...

some things.

2008-02-05T19:03:00.000-05:00

My significant other recently showed me a website filled with awesome geeky gadgets. Of course he wanted everything, but settled on an awesomely geeky new watch and two [one for each of us] of a keyring gadget called TV-B-Gone. They arrived via DHL this afternoon and I find myself wanting to go places with annoyingly yammering TVs just so I can turn them off.

TV is bad, mkay?

Now, to be completely honest, I do pick and choose to watch some programs, some of which are total garbage [ANTM, Project Runway, Scrubs, just to name a few]. However, I do understand the significance of being bombarded by advertisements nonstop and when I am waiting in line at the supermarket and I don't need to space out and watch the constant CNN scrawl and advertisements for products laced with carcinogens and preservatives because our government can't even be bothered to make sure our food, beverage, and body products aren't poisoning us.

Sorry, I got off track.

Basically, TV is a mind numbing distraction and I don't like that they are practically every where you go, filling you with unnecessary fear and misinformation. Along with iPods and other self-isolation devices like them, it discourages interaction with your fellow humans, and it discourages people from reading or calmly just waiting.

When did it become so difficult to just wait anyway?

I was at the post office mailing out some orders the other day and this woman was waiting to mail two letters a few people behind me. She could have easily walked twenty feet over to the automated postage machines, but instead she huffed and puffed in line, trying to get everyone around her angry and feeling as impatient and as unhappy as she was because the line was not moving fast enough. She let out a huge sigh and muttered under her breath angrily because the postal employee paused to give a little boy a junior postmaster sticker before he left with his mother. I wanted to say something to her, but instead I just shook my head. People don't know how to act any more, or to show common decency and patience when in public and it is disheartening to see.

A week or so ago I was waiting to use an ATM at the convenience store by my apartment, and a man practically mowed me over as he walked by me. He didn't even notice me being there because he was completely involved in himself and what he was going to buy. He didn't say he was sorry or even acknowledge me, because he didn't even notice! The cashier noticed and scolded the man for his rudeness. The man was suprised and said he didn't know he almost knocked me over and we both told him to pay attention to where he is propelling his body. It seems to me that many people are not very aware, and this is very much because of things like television and advertising. When we try to block it all out, we often block out everything else.

Think about that.

And think about Plastic Bags !!!

Are you still using plastic bags at the grocery store instead of bringing your own? Even the Plain Dealer's own Connie Schultz is [finally] jumping on the bandwagon of byo-bagging it. Yay! Say it loud and proud, sister. I encourage everyone to read the article and bring your own! She mentions many reasons to do so, including this one :

Plastic bags don't biodegrade. Instead, they break down into toxic bits that contaminate soil and waterways and enter the "food web" when animals eat them.

Need some? Jayne makes them. I got a pretty large black reuseable bag when I bought a pair of shoes the other day. It went right into my glove box for the next time I pop out for groceries or something. There are many kinds, shapes, and colors available that are small and sturdy enough to fold up and carry in a small handbag without taking up a huge amount of room. There is no reason not to do this. It should just be part of your every day routine, like brushing your teeth or recycling bottles.

a new look

2008-01-30T23:36:00.000-05:00

I decided to try out a new banner in my etsy shop, and changed my blog banner to match. I think it is pretty cute, and since I have been focusing less on screen printing t-shirts and more on sewing playsets for kids, I thought my banner should reflect that. I still looove the rainbow of bright t-shirts, but maybe I'll have to save that for another venture.

Here is the before banner :

and here if the after banner:

Don't worry, I'm not over screen printing! I may soon be sharing my printing knowledge at a gallery workshop near you. Stay tuned for news on that!

Check out the new Yellow Stripes Kids Basket in the shop too. I have been finding the most amazingly cute, brightly patterned cotton for the placemats and I thought they would make great suprise, educational Easter baskets! What do you think?

eco-friendly

2008-01-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

I found some new felt while stocking up on reds and pinks for a custom trade project I'm working on with etsy.com yarn spinstress banadura. This new felt is a hand washable polyester fiber made from post consumer plastic bottles! I love that it is a vegetarian, recycled material and since I have been having trouble finding a good price and color selection of wool felt, it makes a really great material to work with in the mean time!

I have been really diligent with bringing my own canvas bag when shopping to avoid having to take plastic bags and the more I do it, the more I remember to grab my canvas bag[s] and bring them when I go into stores. One of my fellow Cleveland Etsy teammates, zJayne, actually recycles t-shirts and sews them into unique, one of a kind shopping bags! She picks out some really great ones, and this two pack is totally one of my favorites, probably because of the Cleveland t-shirt she used in the main photo :o)

Two new HandMade Plush Kids Toy Baskets are now in the HandMade Goods shop - Pink Stars and Blue Flowers. I am way into the new yellow squash and zucchini plush toys I have just added to the collection. I will continue to add new fruits and vegetables soon!

I hope this doesn't ruin the suprise...

2008-01-28T12:13:00.000-05:00

Hi again. Here is a quick update on things I have been working on.

I finished the purple scarf I was knitting as a suprise for Shellie. I had planned on taking it with me to give her in person since I thought I was going to zip off to Los Angeles for the weekend - however - my little dog got sick and after a late night emergency trip to the vet, I decided to stay home and keep and eye on her. So, I finished up the scarf, snapped some photos, and will be posting them to my ravelry notebook shortly [so many things to do this busy Monday afternoon!]. I dropped it in the mail on Friday, so I hope she gets some use out of it before it goes back to the tropical California gorgeousness that they have practically year round. And in case you were wondering, Heidi is all better - I babied her quite a bit and I'm sure she adored it.

I did a lot of sewing over the weekend, and added squash and zucchini to my vegetable line of kids toys. I also made up a few more baskets, which I will be listing throughout the week.

I started a hat.

2008-01-18T11:18:00.000-05:00

I am officially addicted to knitting and ravelry in that order. I have been feeding my yarn habit and have several new projects in the works. I also finished a small scarf from the hand spun, hand dyed yarn I bought from Banadura on etsy.

I attempted the drop stitch in a scarf I started making with super soft and fuzzy Angel Hair yarn. I don't necessarily know if I like how it is coming out so far. It seems quite busy with the dropped stitch designs and the color blocking. I may have to stick to either using the turquoise or using the muli-color yarn if I want to keep the stitch pattern.

I finally picked up the right size circular needles to start a hat and I think the licorice yarn I am working with is a really easy yarn to work with as a newbie. Plus, I loooove the colors.

some developments

2008-01-14T15:17:00.000-05:00

I was recently contacted by someone about one of my flickr photos of the American Apparel Factory in downtown Los Angeles. I took the photo as I was leaving the factory after being interviewed on the roof last January, though that is an entirely different story!

Anyway, the photo was chosen for an online guide of Los Angeles. You can see it here in all its bright pink glory.

As of yesterday I am now on ravelry.com and have been photographing my ever-growing yarn stash [!] and trying to update my projects. Though it is still in the beta testing stages, there is SO much going on and to learn from and I love the features so far! My username is HandMadeGoods, if you want to look for me there.

finished projects

2008-01-02T13:57:00.001-05:00

I finished the black scarf I was working on.

I also finished the fun fur scarflette. I added the bright blue button and I think it works well with the colors and is easy to find when trying to button and unbutton it.

I have been reading a bunch of tutorials about using Kool-aid to dye your own wool/cotton yarn, so I will be trying that next!

I learned to knit from this guy.

2007-12-30T20:42:00.000-05:00

I knitted my first scarf over the weekend. I have made several failed attempts to learn how to knit in the past, but the other day I was determined, and learned from a You Tube video that this guy posted. Was it the combination of orange yarn and teal needles? Perhaps.

I watched it several times, and his second video, and then I finally got it.

At this point, I can only garter stitch, so I was pretty limited as far as patterns go. I went with this pattern, and used black super thick wool yarn and size 17 needles. It came out pretty well, though I only used one skein and so it is not very long. It is pretty stretchy and soft, so I think it will make a nice gift for my dad.

I also knitted a scarflette for his wife, using a blue yarn and a novely fun fur yarn together. I still have to sew the buttons on, but it came out looking really fun and different, which is what I wanted!

I haven't stopped there, either. I knit a headband type of thing that will felt when I wash it. I fell in love with the colors of the yarn, so I needed to see it as something, anything.

Ditto with this gorgeous shades of blue, white, and purple "licorice" yarn that I have started knitting a thinner scarf for myself with.

I need to learn another stitch, quick!

Citrus Lime + Neapolitan

2007-12-19T22:57:00.000-05:00

Hi there! I'm Nicki.

I have a webshop on etsy called HandMade Goods where I sell my HandMade Kids Plush Fruit and Vegetable playsets, cat toys made with organic catnip that I grow, and t-shirts that I screen print by hand.

The holiday orders certainly kept me busy from November until this week. I am excited to take a few days off and give my terrible eyes and sore fingers a much deserved rest! I definitely put my Grandma's old Singer to good use. I'm sure she would be very proud.

I am also eager to expand my product line. I have had ideas for weeks now with little time to do much else but fill orders and even more rarely, print more t-shirts... which is another thing I would like to do more of in the very near future.

In the mean time, I just listed two new Kids Plush Playsets - Citrus Lime and Neapolitan, which are featured in this blog. Each playset includes a combination of six handmade fruits or vegetables, a handmade placemat, and a small wooden picnic basket. I figured, with all of the last minute orders I was getting, I'd better have at least two baskets ready to go in case I needed to rush off to the post office immediately. I love love the stripes in the Neapolitan! When I see the colors together it just looks yummy to me. The bright lime and kelly green Citrus slices are nice and bold. Quite a contrast to the near white-out blizzard conditions we were having here as I was sewing it!