lovely things for nice folks like you

someone needs this for christmas! made by SeptemberHouse whose tagline is "lovely things for nice folks like you." i'm a nice folk. and this is a lovely thing!!

plans for ornaments

i discovered these fun cards on Etsy's homepage today. hello, overthinker. i love them!

by gracegraphics, found here:

woodland cutes

i was in minneapolis last weekend, and while there, i spent an hour in the walker museum gift shop. i found a zillion things i wanted to buy for christmas gifts and birthday gifts and gifts for myself. that tiny shop is well-stocked! i saw work by several etsy artists, which was fun, too. i'm not sure if these are made by the same artist represented in the walker gift shop, but they are adorable all the same.

made by sleepyking:


p.s. i also enjoyed the most delicious sushi ever (two nights in a row!!) if you are in the area, you MUST visit fuji-ya!

hello again.

i haven't posted here for.ever! i didn't mean to let so much time pass, but, there you go: it has. i've been the busiest human on earth, and have turned to more mindless things (read: facebook) to relax. but today, my sweet sister, nancy, showed me something worth blogging about. this little chart is the best thing i've seen in a long time, especially for a song that takes itself so seriously.

(you might have to enlarge it to read the small print.)

new ad for Take Ten Magazine

i've just submitted this ad to Take Ten magazine, and i'm happy with it, but also nervous about it because i don't know enough about TIFF's. this is what it's supposed to look like:


we'll see if i got it right!

veryfun.

i'm so tempted by these! laser cut cardboard kits, available in small, medium, and large!
made by cardboardsafari.

seven cheers for steel wire!

not sure why i chose seven cheers, but there you go. these lovely lovelies are handmade by Claire Rougerie of Debeauxsouvenirs on Etsy. i love 3D line drawings! so beautiful!

ilovegreyskies

let's take a break from happytape! and jewelry to enjoy some nice "mook" sculptures. these were created by etsy artist ilovegreyskies. i'm thinking this is exactly how polymer clay should be used!

happytape. japanese masking tape, third try.

and now it's less annoying! i've slowed it down. yay!

happytape. japanese masking tape, second try.

and this one rotates!

happytape. japanese masking tape galore!

possible happytape ad for a few blogs...do i like it?



and a happytape.com update: sold out!! way faster than i expected! several blogs mentioned me and my stock was completely wiped out! i'll be getting more in about two weeks, but until then, i'm responding to a million emails a day asking when i'll get more. i'm so happy my craziness wasn't a flop! and i might need some employees if i'm still going to do enameling!

*darn--that ad is supposed to rotate! it's the first animated gif i've made, so i'll have to figure out what i've done wrong.

japanese masking tape for me!

dear everyone,
i have an announcement to make! i have a new job title: 'jeweler/importer' (i've always wanted a slash in my job title) here's the story: once upon a time i was all in a fuss because this very beautiful, colored masking tape was made in japan. and only available in japan! i thought it was wrong for us artsy-folk in the united states to not be able to buy it. so, i imported CRATES of it and lived happily ever after.

love,
tina

p.s.i've opened a new etsy shop, happytape.etsy.com, and a new website, happytape.com to list my new wares. i'm so excited!

emetalworks on etsy

i've just discovered a shop on etsy that i really love! it's emetalworks from kansas city. i love her nice use of fiber and other non-traditional materials with metal. plus, i'm a huge fan of rivets!

more new 'sticks' earrings...

new in my shop:

food stuffs (aren't i hilarious?!) by GoBuggy

imagine the happy little waldorf babes playing with these felt foods! the detail on that corn makes my eyes tired! (click to see it big--you'll be amazed.) and the noodles for the udon are a sweet bonus (the bottom two pictures make an udon set.) that shrimp actually makes my mouth water!
see more in her shop!
all by GoBuggy:

bar code art

the idea of human bar codes is very funny to me. i'm loving this temporary tattoo by BarcodeArt:

where the wild things are MOVIE?

hmm... not sure how they can make a full-length movie based on the book, but here's a trailer. i guess you can't go wrong with The Arcade Fire setting the tone. we'll see how the movie goes.

and some new 'sticks' earrings....

i've just listed a few (several more to go) of my new 'sticks' earrings in my shop. i'm working on the pictures now and will post more over the next few days.

The Decemberists streaming 'Hazards of Love' plus '500 Enameled Objects'

If you have a computer in your kitchen, and your kitchen is the center of your house and universe, you might want to click here for free streaming of The Decemberists new album/folk opera, Hazards of Love.


And, if you love enamels, enameling, and all enamelists, you might want to run and purchase this book. it's a beautiful compilation of artists, and it shows the huge range of enameling styles. i was working on something amazing to submit for this book, but i didn't get it finished on time (or even at all!) now i'm really regretting it. but i love the book!

personalized hangers by lilafrances

since i love all things metal, especially all line-drawing type things made with wire, these personalized hangers are my favorite new discovery. my kids don't have especially organized closets (or even closets that close), so personalized hangers in my family might be a little ridiculous...but, if i was mrs. pottery barn, with perfectly organized/decorated rooms and closets, i would NEED about 20 of these. my family, though, does enjoy little artsy things hanging on walls, especially personalized hangers, so i'm thinking of wall decor here. (and, the fact that my daughter's name is lila pretty much seals it, don't you think?)
by lilafrances:

kathy brooks on etsy!

one of my three sisters is now listing her cute prints on etsy! so bright and happy! she also has scary monsters, fabric cards, and cute magnets.

presenting kathy brooks:

revolutionary road by richard yates

(i just discovered i could post my goodreads reviews here. isn't that fancy?)

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
i loved the writing. a lot. somehow i had the idea that it had a happy ending, that it was a happy book. it's not. i also thought it was written recently; that it was a book set in the 50's, but written from a current perspective. it wasn't that, either. it was written in 1961. i don't know where i got all my big ideas.
but. i thought it read like hemingway, and i loved that.

The whole point of crying was to quit before you cornied it up. The whole point of grief itself was to cut it out while it was still honest, while it still meant something. Because the thing was so easily corrupted: let yourself go and you started embellishing your own sobs, or you started telling about the Wheelers with a sad, sentimental smile and saying Frank was courageous, and then what the hell did you have?


View all my reviews.

love, love bon iver, skinny love

i'd like to hear this song everyday, please. it makes me want to cry.

a march post

let's pretend i didn't miss the whole month of february on my blog, ok?

moving right along, let's talk about some things i love:

1. these new bumpy pendants by ashleyjewelry are so bright and wearable!


2. this delicious ring! i wish it was edible. by QuercusSilver (if you are interested in the process, she also has really good pictures and descriptions on flickr.)


3. this re-fired postage plate by magpiepottery. i wish i had an excuse to buy these for my own self.

sexy people

i've discovered a new way to entertain myself: sexy people blog
it's 'a celebration of the perfect portrait'

fire to go

my house is freezing these days, especially my studio. my studio is set up in my walk-out basement, where there is a door to the backyard. when my heater (also in my basement) is running, it sucks outside air into my very cold studio, making it colder. when it's -15F, my heater is running all day long. it makes for a cold, cold studio. i freeze. and working with my numb hands gets very tricky. so, we've blocked the drafty spots and sealed the seam around the door, but it's still chilly chilly. i've been looking for a non-electric, portable way to make myself more cozy, and this is my favorite! it would be a ridiculous choice (can't really have open flames when i'm working with acetylene!), but i soo love it! a suitcase of cozy! it burns denatured ethanol, which burns super clean, so it requires no flue. very nice. (available at unica home)

more showing off about shea

my cute niece, shea prueger, did some iTunes billboards and now, gift cards. isn't she amazing?!?

another happy thing

this 'spontaneous picnic' dress also made me very happy the other day, as the snow was falling too early for me. by reddish design studio.

urban quilts

just discovered amy ahlstrom's urban quilts. urban graffiti expressed in in a rural craft is an idea that makes me very happy.

fun art

patrick dougherty recently came to iowa to create an outdoor art installation on a lake near us. i took my kids there on a freezing cold day, but we had so much fun! i loved the concept and the construction of the installation. my kids loved the tunnel-ness and hide-ability. we were all happy.

i've never done a panoramic collage of photos, so this might not be the most graceful, but i love seeing the whole thing. it was really a U-shape, but i'm not so fancy with the panorama. (hurry & click it to see it big!)

80's memories

this morning i had a memory of loving the David Bowie soundtrack from the movie 'Cat People'. i remember the movie being an original, dark, artsy movie with Natasha Kinski (i loved her!) so i got on last.fm to see if i could listen to the theme song and remember feelings of my youth. i found this video and just laughed--my whole artsy-dark image destroyed. it's funny to get old and feel a little defensive about how cool i really used to be (though, i usually try to keep those thoughts to myself.)



if the video doesn't load, click here.

while you wait.

while you wait for me to have something interesting to say, check out this hand carved footstool by Trillium Artisans member Dave Sage. now i wanna whittle.

and now:

i'm slowly adding to my shop. today i added these long, bar earrings. i already sold the originals, but i'll be doing these 'made to order.' i love how they turned out! i have dozens of photos of new things to post, but i've got a lot of editing to do first. and i'm way too busy with jewelry-making to spend enough time jewelry-photographing.

i want these, too

i'm pretty sure i need these. i'm a sucker for a metal rack, full or empty, but these little cups just work.

made (for me!) by cyrusthepotter:

i want, want, want

i really love odd molly clothing. i'll never buy any, because 1. i don't buy myself expensive handmade clothes, 2. i'd have to travel to paris, milan, or barcelona, or wait until fall 2009 to see them in n.y. (they haven't heard of mail order?), 3. i think those are all the reasons. but, if i didn't have those reasons, i'd purchase these things:

tags for sale, tags for sale!

i just made these very cute gift tags and decided to list them as a printable .pdf for sale in my non-jewelry shop, today.etsy.com. aren't they just primo?! (is that bragging?)

cozy shak

i wish i could remember where i found this image, but i can't. i love it, though. it reminds me of my young high school days, where i would go dancing at 'the vortex' in downtown sacramento. we would pass a small village of homeless people huddling around a trash can fire as we walked through one of these concrete tunnels under the railroad tracks. wouldn't my homeless friends have been delighted with this cozified version of their concrete home?

and some bracelets, finally.

a new thing

here's something new (for hypnotizing your friends.) i love how it turned out:

smokey wide wings

this little necklace has been in more etsy treasuries lately, and i'm not sure why. it was even on the frontpage today (yay!) it's one of my favorites, but it doesn't strike me as the type that other people will love. i love the 'found object' look, like i strung up scraps from an old car. but i imagine other people loving brighter colors with more refined character. i'm glad i'm wrong.

origami king

tonight, my 13 year old son showed us (the rest of the family) how to make origami boxes. he's been doing origami since he was 5 and he's just amazing. it's been fun to watch him go from sloppy, to perfect; from frustrated to genius. and it's been amazing to see how intuitive written instructions are to him now, knowing how confusing they used to be to him. i'm so proud. i think it's time he opens an etsy shop of his own.

these are some of our forms. his are all the perfect ones. my favorites are hard to see in this picture, but they are the little triangle shapes, officially called hexahedrons (?). there are two on top of the wire basket, in front of the three cubes. they fit exactly in my palm.

these i love

i'm noticing some great new (to me) things on etsy lately. maybe i need to start my christmas list?

by theilluminatedowl:


by naventin, who looks new to etsy?


by simonewalsh:

what luck!

it's a christmas miracle! i was on the frontpage again!

(in my family everything good that happens throughout the year is a 'christmas miracle'...it's a joke. a very hilarious joke.)

chocolate mug cake

i was emailed this recipe (and photo) today and tried it immediately. i love the idea of instant chocolate cake, but if you follow this recipe, chocolate cake isn't exactly what you'll get. without baking soda, baking powder, or salt, you'll just have a sweet, sweet pile of yuck. i added about 1/4 t. of salt and cut down the sugar, and added a little more cocoa and a little less oil, and definitely used the chocolate chips, and mine was very edible. though it wasn't exactly cake, it was definitely good. the texture was more like...not cake.

but the idea is fun, right?
and beware, this rises WAY out of the mug, like WAY out. it's better than microwaving peeps.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour
in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract,
and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake
will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and
tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous). And why is this
the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?
Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of
the day or night!

etsy frontpage, for a minute.

yay! i was on the frontpage! not for long, though. it changed very quickly! but i'm not complaining...

etsy's down....

etsy is having some glitches with photo uploading, so i'm posting on my blog instead. i've been working on some very fun new pieces for my shop. here are just a few. i'm excited about some other new bits, but they aren't ready to be photographed yet. stay tuned.

LG chocolate phone in black cherry

on a happier note (happier than my last post), i am LOVING my new phone! i've never loved a phone like this one. i love the upslide. i love the little vibration of the top surface buttons. i love the color. (still getting used to my new ring, though. why don't all phones have 'triads'? i love that ring.)

it wasn't actually time for a new phone, but i jumped into a pool with my clothes on and ruined the phone that was in my pocket. i was saving a little boy who was drowning, so i have no regrets at all! sadly, verizon has no special privileges for child-saving heroes like myself. but, it's ok, because my first full price phone has turned out to make me very happy.

sigh.

i know i'm not blogging enough, but i'm soo tired...

i think i'm getting sick, and i'm still catching up with my jewelry projects, and i'm still getting re-settled after my vacation (a MONTH ago!) does everyone take this long to get back in the groove?

i almost sound depressed here, and i'm actually not. but, i do wish i had more time in my day. and i wish i wasn't so easily distracted. and i wish everyone i loved lived nearer to me. and i wish other things, too. 8-10 other things.

but don't these grapevine silhouettes make you happy? i've made a photoshop stamp of them to use on my jewelry cards. they overlap perfectly when i stamp them over & over & over & over & over & o

ta da!

soon i'll be offering limited edition assemblage necklaces in my shop. this will be one of the first.



and, another thing (or two) i'm enjoying...
small sculptures by therunnybunny:

and by letterfest:

and i think i'm back....

we had an amazingly fun vacation; very relaxing, very fun. i loved seeing my family and our friends. i loved being with my own family so much. it's been a big adjustment coming home, where i have to actually make dinner and get my kids ready for school. and i've had a hard time getting caught up with my jewelry orders. and the humidity hasn't been my favorite. but, here are a few last pictures from the california leg of my birthday.

there are 5 kids in my childhood family. i have an older brother and three younger sisters. when my brother turned 40, my younger sister had the genius idea that the other four siblings (sisters, in his case) would buy 10 gifts for him so he would have 40 presents. We brought all kinds of funny, sentimental, and sometimes homemade things that reminded us of him. We were all in Washington DC then, for my sisters wedding, so we were all together as he opened all the gifts. It couldn't have been more fun. We made a plan that we'd be together for everyone's 40th birthday to do the same thing, but early this year, we realized that it wasn't going to work for my birthday since 3 families were having babies and the other was moving across the country! so, I just thought it wasn't going to happen and i never gave another thought to the 40 presents. but, with two sisters in town, my brother on speaker phone and my other sister on ichat, it was an incredible and almost embarrassing surprise to open a pile of 40 presents. i loved remembering the fun times we had growing up. i loved knowing the memories my siblings had of me. i made a list of all the gifts and all the reasons they were given. everything had a story. everything was perfect! (and, oooh, what decorations!)

here is a picture of me with all my loot: