RANCHO COCOA

Pancakes For One

2012-02-12T11:19:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a pancakes at the Grit kind of morning.

Nilla One-Hundred And Nineteen

2012-02-09T12:01:00.001-05:00

Nilla squished her way up into the book shelves the other day! She is a good jumper and jumped her way on to the shelf.

Orange Popsicles and Lemonade

2012-02-08T22:41:00.002-05:00

I drew some new buttons that feature song some of my favorite song lyrics from one of my favorite bands, the B-52's! This pair of buttons are from their song Summer of Love. I love love love that song, so I made these buttons from some of my drawings.

And here is another with lyrics from the B's song Cosmic Thing! We will be shaking our honey buns when we see the B-52's at their 35th anniversary show tomorrow! I am excited!

Tunesday Tuesday: Tattle Tale

2012-02-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

Tattle Tale have been one of my favorite riot grrrl bands for a long time. Tattle Tale has long since broken up, but I still like to bust out their cassette and cd once in a while. Everyone needs some good riot grrrl in their life, no? Tattle Tale was a duo made up of Bonfire Madigan and Jen Wood. They formed Tattle Tale when they were teenagers, and I discovered their music through the Kill Rock Stars record label.

When I was in high school I used to write to indie record labels and ask them for a copy of their catalog. I did not have a cd player, only a cassette stereo and walkman, and I had a record player. I only ordered cassettes for most of my high school career, and I was so happy when Tattle Tale had this cassette only release!

I love Tattle Tale for a number of reasons - I love their lyrics and singing, how sewing is a theme throughout their music, and how they have a love for Pippi Longstocking. How many bands today can claim that?

My friend in Seattle found a copy of their cd for me. I love this cd, and it is really hard to find. I think there are downloads online for it now, but I had a terrible time trying to find it for ages.

Here is my favorite song by Tattle Tale.

Button Love

2012-02-07T07:28:00.000-05:00

All these new buttons I designed are ready for sharing, or keeping all for yourself, right at Shoppe Sugar Cookie!

Weekend Wind-Down #138

2012-02-06T21:49:00.003-05:00

Missy started taking JEWELRY / METALSMITHING classes last year...this year, they moved their classes into a new facility and they recently had an OPEN HOUSE to show off their new digs. We started the evening off by looking at some of the amazing jewelry and metal pieces made by some of the more advanced students...

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Sleeping 12 hours straight this weekend!
RAOUL - Printmaking exhibition opening at UGA this past Friday.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Having cramps.
RAOUL - Being too tired to attend the Big Freedia booty jam at Farm this past Friday.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Oreo and Jumbles being super excited to come back into the house after playing on the patio all weekend.
RAOUL - Gary tipsy at the art opening!

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "I get to party with rock stars!"
RAOUL - "You sassin' me, boy?"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Homemade stir-fry.
RAOUL - Vegetarian franks & beans.

FAVORITE SUPER BOWL ALTERNATIVE?
MISSY - Kitty Half-Time Show!
RAOUL - Watching Downton Abbey.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - First Aid Kit, The Black Atlantic, The Summer Twins, Alessi's Ark.
RAOUL - Blast Off Country Style!, Go Sailor, Brave Irene, The New Sound Of Numbers, The Lookers, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Trembling Blue Stars, Watoo Watoo, Compute, Lookout! Records' Forward Till Death compilation.

Snuggle Bunny Monday

2012-02-06T20:47:00.000-05:00

What are the bunnies up to today? Let's have a peek!

Aw! They are snuggling!

They are so cute together. I love my bunnies!

Sketchbook Sunday - Cats and Bunnies

2012-02-05T22:24:00.002-05:00

Here are some of my drawings I have been working on lately. Some of these are for my button designs that I have in Shoppe Sugar Cookie, and some are for fabric pattern designs I have at my Spoonflower fabric shop. Some are from my Tunesday Tuesday posts, too. It is neat to see how they turn out and if you might notice them in other places.

I like drawing in pencil more and more recently, and then I like to use different pens to ink the artwork in. I love drawing animals, too. I do not mind drawing people so much, too - but when I was a child I never liked to draw people. I only drew animals and my toys!

Occupational Hazards 22

2012-02-05T21:34:00.002-05:00

Every month at work they pass out these CALENDARS with all our co-workers' birthdays listed. I think the CLIP ART in the header looks kinda like Missy and me!

Nilla One-Hundred And Eighteen

2012-02-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

Nilla came to visit me in the craft room. She really loves to look out the window and sit on my sewing table. Here she is "finding her light."

Tunesday Tuesday: First Aid Kit

2012-01-31T23:06:00.003-05:00

I have loved the band First Aid Kit upon first listen. I am pretty sure I found them on iTunes with the "people who liked this, also bought this" thing, or else I read about them maybe from Twitter. Anyways, I am very glad I did because I really am in love with their music. My musical tastes run a little more on the "folk" side than Raoul's, but he also is a fan of First Aid Kit. I love music that has different stories within the album, and I also love their voices. Their new record is called "The Lion's Roar." On first listen, I do not love it as quickly as I loved the other album, but it is a grower, and it is totally growing on me at the moment. You can listen to a really good interview with the sisters of First Aid Kit right here from NPR. They are also featured in this month's issue of Nylon magazine, and they have on the most beautiful dresses with the most amazing patterns!

This is one of my favorite songs from their first album.

And one from the newest album, too.

And one more for good measure because this one is really good, too.

Snuggle Bunny Monday

2012-01-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

Here is Jumbles. Jumbles loves to sleep on the blankets that I give to them. Sometimes he likes to move them around and dig in them, too. He is sleepy in this photo, and when he gets sleepy, his ears start to droop and he sort of tips over to one side!

Oreo is getting a sip of water right behind Jumbles. She makes a slurpy sound when she drinks.

They are really excited cos I am putting up some new artwork in their room! I will have to post some more pictures later because this is when the room is in progress. I sure love how it is looking lately!

And I think the bunnies will enjoy it, too.

Sketchbook Sunday

2012-01-29T21:17:00.002-05:00

Here is another Sketchbook Sunday with a few of my current drawings. I thought I would write this post as I watch Downton Abbey (ooh, who else is watching? It is getting really good!). I made some new little drawings and I think they are coming along quite well...

These are drawn with my Pentel brush pen. I like working with it because the lines you can make remind me of some of my favorite line art from Andy Warhol.

I really like drawing animals lately. I mostly draw from my memory, but I also like to look at Pinterest and other websites for inspiration. I like looking at different sites for animals and patterns. I would like to make some of these little baby seals into a pattern for my Spoonflower fabric shop!

Nilla One-Hundred And Seventeen

2012-01-26T22:10:00.002-05:00

Wow. It's been a while since we've done the obligatory "POST A PHOTO OF OUR CAT" on the blog...here's NILLA covering her eyes, mid-cat nap.

Tofu Baby 2012

2012-01-26T07:06:00.000-05:00

Are you really ready for 2012? I mean, are you really ready for 2012?? Now you can be truly ready with your very own Tofu Baby Cawendar for 2012! Each month features a scene I drew to match the month. I think they look really cute!

In the center of the cawendar is a Chutes and Wadders that you can play, too. You can get your own copy at Shoppe Sugar Cookie!

Mini Choco

2012-01-23T22:48:00.002-05:00

Yummy!

I love chocolate, so I sewed some of these Mini Choco candies. Raoul gave me the idea to make a special wrapper for the Mini Choco, so I made this cute little label. It is printed on speckled white paper.

All wrapped up neatly in a foil wrapper - this is one candy that won't melt in your pocket! Inside contains...

Some very cute candy! I made these from wool felt. I enjoy doing some hand sewing once in a while, and these little sweets are fun to make. I especially liked embroidering their faces.

I only made a few of these so far, and you can find them right here at Shoppe Sugar Cookie! You can give the gift of chocolate this Valentine's Day!

Weekend Wind-Down #138

2012-01-23T20:30:00.004-05:00

We went to THE HIGH MUSEUM in Atlanta, yesterday, to see the last day of the KIKI SMITH exhibit. In the courtyard outside the museum entrance was a giant sculpture of "COMPANION" - the signature character created by street artist KAWS.

It was busy enough at the museum that we were able to sneak a few photos in the galleries...

They had some cool AFRICAN ART in their collection...

We took the elevator up to view the PICASSO TO WARHOL exhibit again (we saw it back in October). On the back of the elevator there was this poster showing a couple of brightly coiffed HIPSTERS (I'm guessing...SCAD students?) enjoying an amorphous purple thing:

We really liked the room with these giant ALEX KATZ pieces:

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Kiki Smith exhibit at The High!
RAOUL - Going to The High Museum. Can't wait for the KAWS show next month.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Storm on Saturday night...Nilla was scared!
RAOUL - The mess that was made after the big storm this Saturday...we've got fallen tree limbs and branches everywhere.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Jumbles yawning.
RAOUL - That old guy sitting in the booth behind us at Soul Veg who kept criticizing Kirsten Dunst's acting abilities in the Spiderman movies.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Kalebone"
RAOUL - "Kalebone"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Dinner at Soul Vegetarian.
RAOUL - Kalebone sandwich, onion rings, Hebrew bakes at Soul Veg.

THREE THINGS YOU DIDN'T GET DONE LAST WEEK?
MISSY - Ooooh, I'll get my planner and tell you...buttons for Sci-Fi Caper and Gold-Bears, buy jewelry supplies, clean craft room.
RAOUL - The dishes, send my school loan payment, photograph my new button designs.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Alessi's Ark, Beirut.
RAOUL - Battles, King Tuff, The Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart, Vomit Launch, Cotton Candy, Blast Off Country Style, Warp Records' Warp:Routine compilation, Kill Rock Stars / Lookout! Records' Slice Of Lemon comp.

Feelin' Groovy Again

2012-01-22T11:45:00.001-05:00

The day after Christmas was spent in the South Side at Groovy. Joey took us there as a pressie, and he also got us hot cocoa and soup at the Beehive. Thanks, Joey! Here are some of my Groovy pics...

I had all of this Strawberry Shortcake stuff when I was little. I still have a fair amount, so it is fun to see all of this again.

Do you know Charmkins? I had a ton of these, and I still have all of mine. They all smell, too, but they all have the collective Charmkins "smell" cos they are all kept in the same container for the past 25 years!

Feelin' Groovy

2012-01-21T22:40:00.003-05:00

While we were up in Pittsburgh last month, Missy's brother Joe took us out to GROOVY, the self-proclaimed "POP CULTURE EMPORIUM". I'm happy to say that they truly lived up to their reputation...

The store was filled from floor to ceiling with mostly VINTAGE GAMES AND TOYS...it was like unearthing a giant TIME CAPSULE. Everywhere we looked we were blown away...where else can you find BEETLEJUICE, ED GRIMLEY, ERKEL, and PEE WEE HERMAN co-existing in perfect harmony?

In the back of the store they had plastic KIDDIE POOLS filed with BEANIE BABIES...are they still worth anything anymore?

SHOGUN WARRIORS! I used to have the red one when I was a kid. I sold it when I needed extra cash to move from California to Georgia back in 2005:

They even had a throwback MS. PAC-MAN arcade console for sale:

Believe it or not, I'm old enough to remember GABE KAPLAN and the TV show "WELCOME BACK, KOTTER"...

...and I used to have this MORK doll!

Buon Appetito

2012-01-21T22:19:00.002-05:00

Knowing how much she likes to cook, my parents got Missy a CHEF'S HAT and APRON, embroidered with her name, for Christmas. We brought them up to Pittsburgh to show Missy's parents. Also knowing how much she likes to cook, her parents got her a GIANT NON-STICK PAN for Christmas. It's like they all planned it! We couldn't help but take a photo of the whole shebang...

Hidden Pittsburgh

2012-01-17T22:42:00.001-05:00

Missy and I were in PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania, the week between Christmas and New Year's...we were there visiting her family for the holidays. One day, Missy's younger brother JOE told us about this artist that he helped out now and then, and that he would take us to the ABANDONED FACTORY where he worked on these large STEEL SCULPTURES. He drove us out to this nondescript industrial area somewhere outside the city. It was all fenced-in with all these "NO TRESPASSING" signs posted everywhere . He drove us through several heavily-locked gates (which he had keys to), past several deteriorating buildings and post apocalyptic landscapes before arriving at the abandoned factory, which seemed like miles from anywhere...

The entire building felt like a mile long inside, extending far into pitch blackness. Fortunately for us, the work area was right at the entrance of the building. Above us, sun shone through holes in the rust-eaten roof. Joe said that on stormy days, the rain would just come right through the roof as they worked. Around us were all these GIANT FIGURES made out of STEEL GIRDERS...

From what I understand, several artists were squatting/using the factory. In one part of the building, someone had stashed all these large BUSINESS SIGNS...

A giant DRY ERASE BOARD spelled out the different tasks that needed to be completed for each sculpture:

Weekend Wind-Down #137

2012-01-16T23:28:00.003-05:00

Whoa! It's been a while since we've done a WEEKEND WIND-DOWN post on here...it's been a while since I HAVE POSTED ON HERE! Per usual, we got super busy towards the end of last year and then I got burned out. Missy's been good about posting to the blog and now I feel like I'm ready to jump back into it. I've got a backlog of photos on my camera, and I'll be working my way back through them, going backwards and rewinding all the way back to last October. First things first, though - this past weekend, Missy and I were in Atlanta for the weekend with work, attending the ATLANTA GIFT SHOW - three-and-a-half buildings filled with showroom after showroom of wholesale suppliers to the international gift industry. Our first day there, we came across this troupe of HULA DANCERS entertaining the hustling and bustling show-goers in Building 1. Occasionally, their interpretive dances were punctuated by a couple of bare-chested dudes blowing into conch shells, which bellowed like fog horns:

We watched this little WATER FOUNTAIN LIGHT SHOW in the garden section of Building 2:

We returned to our hotel room with a tote bag (courtesy of Pip Studio) full of SWAG, then headed out to CAFE SUNFLOWER for dinner. Missy had a STUFFED ACORN SQUASH:

The next morning on our way back to the mart, we saw this d-bag HUMMER WITH FLAMES, PARKED IN THE HANDICAP SPOT outside our hotel. Of course they weren't handicapped...

Much of our last day was spent inside the cavernous Building 3, where we ran into this GIRAFFE:

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Dinner at Cafe Sunflower...our waiter referred to us as "regulars!"
RAOUL - The moment we got home from the Mart, har har.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Having to work on the weekend at the Gift Show.
RAOUL - That Zac Efrom movie I watched in the hotel.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Seeing those hula dancers!
RAOUL - Yeah, it was pretty funky seeing those dancers in the middle of the Mart.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Hangry"
RAOUL - "Hangry"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Blueberry cobbler at Cafe Sunflower. Mmmmmm.
RAOUL - Dinner and dessert at Cafe Sunflower.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Hay, gluten-free waffles, and pie crust.
RAOUL - Vegetarian chili, Udi's bagels, and mat boards.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - The Black Atlantic, Bjork, My Bubba & Mi, First Aid Kit.
RAOUL - The B52's, Chix-52, Apples In Stereo, Aphex Twin, General Public, Depeche Mode, Silicon Teens, Rhino Record's Rock Instrumental Classics: Vol.4 Soul.

Forest Fawn Fashion

2012-01-16T20:21:00.002-05:00

I know I have told you about one of my favorite bloggers out there, and if you do not remember, I will mention Kaylah Doolan of the Dainty Squid blog again. Here is her photos from this blog post where she is wearing my Forest Fawn Wood Pin! Once again, Kaylah is super cute and I wanna be her best friend cos she is just that adorable.

Here is a detail of my wood pin I made from my original drawing! I really think it looks great with her gray sweater and striped dress.

And here I am wearing the same pin, too! Of course I have to keep one for myself! I am not as stylish as Kaylah, but the vintage top under my sweater has a pattern with different kinds of stoves.

Here is the Forest Fawn close up. You can check out Shoppe Sugar Cookie for many more wood pins that I have made lately!

All My Pets

2012-01-12T23:41:00.001-05:00

Here is a picture of all three of our pets! You don't usually see them all together, now do you?

Tunesday Tuesday: Beirut in Concert

2012-01-10T21:03:00.000-05:00

I have been a fan of this band since Raoul gave me their album "The Flying Club Cup" for Christmas a few years ago. Back in December Raoul and I went to see them at the newly renovated Georgia Theatre. Not only is the new Georgia Theatre really nice, but Beirut were one of the best musical acts I have seen in my life. They opened with "Scenic World" and did many of my favorites from all of their albums. I only regret not hearing "Forks and Knives," as that is my favorite song of theirs. We also really liked hearing and seeing the song "The Shrew," and I think that is Raoul's favorite cos of the trumpets. Raoul is a great trumpet player, so he knows more about this than I do.

This band did not disappoint - I mean, how could they? They have an accordion player, trumpets, trombone, and tuba! A tuba!

I think my favorite song they did that night was "Vagabond" from the new album. Everything just sounded perfect with the horn section and Zach's voice. If I could see Beirut every night, I would. They are that good!

Do you want to see this band, but missed the concert? You can watch a movie of their show in Brussels. I know cos I watched it, too. Before I saw them live.

Loved Letter Envelope Charm Necklaces

2012-01-09T21:31:00.002-05:00

Here are some of my new Loved Letter Charm Necklaces. These are made from vintage envelope charms and then I made a teeny tiny drawing for in each charm. They are so small, they are smaller than one inch wide!

My Loved Letter lockets are in Shoppe Sugar Cookie, so please have a look!

Sketchbook Sunday: Some Drawings

2012-01-08T14:40:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my drawings from my current sketchbook. Check it out!

Happy Birthday Joey and Benny

2012-01-05T20:58:00.002-05:00

Happy birthday to my baby brother, Joe! I hope you have a food birthday. We got to celebrate with Joe when we visited for the holidays. We made him this cake! We made a cute squirrel in top with a cookie cutter and minty green colored sugar. I would also like to wish Raoul's dad a happy birthday, too. His birthday was yesterday. Happy birthday, Benny!

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-04T19:54:00.000-05:00

Happy new year! We here at the Ranch hope everyone is having a very good new year so far. Did you make any resolutions? Did you have sauerkraut for your new year's food? That is what my family does each year. I did not have any, but Raoul gave it a try. Now maybe it is his new new year's food?

Yummy Jumbles

2011-12-28T18:47:00.000-05:00

We have spent some time at home, so I decided to bake some jumbles cookies. Jumbles are a type of drop cookie that you can add all sorts of mix-ins into. If you look online, there are so many different recipes for jumbles cookies, but I used the one from the book, Field Guide to Cookies.

Jumbles are more of a cake-y cookie than a crispy cookie, and they are really easy to make. They aren't overly sweet, so they are really nice with tea.

Would you like to make jumbles, too? Here is the recipe I followed.

What you will need:
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

First mix the flour, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and set this aside.

In another large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and mix until everything is combined. Add half of the flour mixture to this and mix on low until everything is combined. Add the sour cream, and mix well. Finally, add the rest of the flour mixture and mix well. Fold the pecans into the dough.

Next, chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop tablespoon-size amount of dough on to the cookie sheets, approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, and let cool.

Enjoy some cookies!

Happy Acorn and Sleeping Bunny Pins and the Dainty Squid

2011-12-28T13:37:00.000-05:00

We have been so busy getting ready for the holidays that I forgot to show you some lovely photos that feature my Happy Acorn Wood Pin and my Sleeping Bunny Wood Pin. These photos are by Kaylah from the Dainty Squid blog, and boy, aren't they cute?

I think the Happy Acorn and Sleeping Bunny make such a cute pair, don't you?

You can get your very own Happy Acorn Wood Pin right here or you can get the Sleeping Bunny instead!

My Christmas in Pictures

2011-12-27T17:12:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a good Christmas holiday! Here are some photos from our Christmas.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-25T14:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays from Rancho Cocoa! We hope everyone is having the best holidays! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Past Memories: See Rock City

2011-12-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

When Raoul first moved here, we visited Rock City for the holidays! We like Rock City as a neat place to visit, but it is especially neat at Christmastime. The gardens are decorated with so many lights! It is amazing!

I remember it was so cold that day! We bundles up, but it was very windy on the mountain that night. BRRR!

Christmas Past Memories: Beautiful Blythe

2011-12-21T19:14:00.001-05:00

My Blythe dolls like to get in the Christmas spirit, too. Here they are celebrating on the fire place. Don't they look cozy?

Harmonie Melodie Petunia really likes Christmas. She was good this year, so I think she will get the pair of shoes she asked for.

Audrey Pumpkin was very good this year, too. In fact, she was so good that she baked us cookies each day in December. We really like her. She gets an extra pressie from Santa.

Sadie, well, let's just say Sadie is no angel. I mean, look at her. She is a mess. Coal again, my poor dear.

Christmas Past Memories: Disneyland

2011-12-20T22:07:00.003-05:00

Back in 2007 we went to Disneyland! I expected to not enjoy this place, but it was really fun and amazing! I have never really been to a theme park with rides, well, except for teeny ones, but that does not count. I also have never been to Kennywood, the very popular amusement park in Pittsburgh. I also don't know how to swim, so there you go. Anyways, back to Disneyland...

I think Disneyland is the best at Christmas cos there is a parade every minute and they had lots of decorations and great costumes. It is so festive.

I know it looks like a storm is welling up in the background, but it never rained that day. I think it scared some people away that day because there were hardly any long lines and we got to go on so many rides.

Who's been naughty??

I am thrilled to be here at Disneyland! We flew right in and drove straight to the park with Raoul's sister and later met more of his family there. They have season passes to go all the time.

Of course we rode the teacups!

Here is my favorite, Small World. I just love the wreaths and Christmas lights.

Inside was even better! I love Mary Blair.

We had such a fun time, it is really nice to look at these pictures and remember this fun vacation to Disneyland!

Christmas Past Memories: Rankin and Bass

2011-12-19T21:41:00.002-05:00

I was looking at some of our photos before we started blogging. We have some really great Christmas memories! Here are some of our photos from when we went to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. We went to see the original puppets from the much beloved Rankin and Bass Christmas specials. From what I understand, these are two of the remaining puppets, as many of these miniatures were lost over time. As you can see, they are wonderful creations, and I loved seeing these in person.

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

2011-12-18T22:50:00.002-05:00

Finally I had some time this weekend to put our Christmas decorations up! I put some of my vintage elves and reindeer on our mantle. Some of the decorations are ones my mom gave me, too, or that she made for me. I just love seeing them each year!

Here are some plush bells my mom made when I was little. She gave these to me last time she came for a visit. They hang on hooks that are stuck in our ceiling in the living room. We left them in when we repainted this room in the summer.

And our lovely fiber optic Christmas tree of joy! I love this tree cos we got it the first year we moved into our house. Raoul said Nilla would eat a real one, but she also will eat a fake one if we let her. We placed our tree up high where she won't jump.

Behind the tree is the Christmas house! We decorated it with some miniature deer, Hallmark ornaments (my family collects these), Sanrio, and peppermint candles. And best of all...

The reindeer on the roof!!

Along with Santa in his sleigh! I think I love these most of all from my Christmas collection. Mom gave me these, too, so that is why I love them.

Weekend Wind-Down #136

2011-12-07T01:36:00.004-05:00

Whoa! So...it's been a while since I've posted on here, and even longer since the last time we had a "WEEKEND WIND-DOWN". I was going to post this Monday night, but 2am on a Wednesday is a good a time as any, considering. I have a backlog of images that have yet to be downloaded from the past couple of months, and I'm feeling the pressure to finally get them out of my camera, especially since things are only going to get busier here on out. We've been super busy crafting, making things, packing things, sending things, etc...between craft shows, re-stocking on-line stores and brick-and-mortar stores, and filling out folks' holiday orders, it's been crazy here. Missy's been good about posting and I've been more than happy to take a much needed break. Right now, we're in the midst of getting stuff together for the big CHATTY CRAFTY craft show in Chattanooga, Tennessee this weekend:

We did take a break last Friday night to attend the STUDENT EXIT SHOW at the LAMAR DODD SCHOOL OF ART at the University of Georgia here in Athens. Needless to say, it was inspiring to see works by bright young talent and it gave us a creative boost:

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST MONTH?
MISSY - Thanksgiving...I had fun cooking!
RAOUL - The ICE Atlanta holiday craft sale was pretty fun!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST MONTH?
MISSY - Not getting to go home for Thanksgiving.
RAOUL - Finally getting sick and tired of Thanksgiving dinner after having it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner three days in a row...we made a lot of food!

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST MONTH?
MISSY - Watching Jumbles...everything he does is funny and cute!
RAOUL - A certain story I heard on the RISK! podcast.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST MONTH?
MISSY - "Superpaws"
RAOUL - "Paddy"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST MONTH?
MISSY - Thanksgiving
RAOUL - Thanksgiving...of course!

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Put away socks, draw comic, clean out the rabbits' pen.
RAOUL - Make stuff for the craft sale this weekend, laundry, see Beirut at the Georgia Theater.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR CHRISTMAS WISH LIST?
MISSY - More art to hang on the walls, a light from Schoolhouse Electric for the bunnies' room, a new litter pan for Nilla.
RAOUL - Get some art matted and framed, a buncha DVDs, a buncha CDs.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST MONTH?
MISSY - Beirut, First Aid Kit, The Softies, Laura Marling, Unrest, The Coctails.
RAOUL - Beirut, Boards Of Canada, LCD Soundsystem, Depeche Mode, Luna, Yo La Tengo, Unrest, The Coctails.

Light Up Night 2011

2011-12-02T19:10:00.002-05:00

Last night was one of our favorite events in Athens, the Downtown Athens Christmas Parade! We almost were not going to go, but I am glad we did. It was a little chilly, but we braved the cold weather. I remember when Raoul first moved here, it was super cold outside for the parade. We got to the parade after a late dinner, but we saw all the floats in their full glory! Here are some of my pictures. They are all taken from my iPhone cos we did not have our real cameras.

Habitat for Humanity's float in the Christmas parade had so many lights and looked quite gingerbready!

This is someone from Bike Athens. Check out the tree on their bike!

Nothing says Christmas more than some Star Wars characters! Now there is a Christmas album to remember! I love "Life Day."

This cat is the BEST costume ever cos it is for Athens Humane Society! That is where I got my little kitty, Nilla!

Canopy Studio, the local trapeze and aerial dance school, had fire twirlers, hula hoopers, and roller skaters, not to mention a trapeze on their float!

I saw so many of my friends from Canopy on the float! They all started to say "Merry Christmas, Missy!" when they saw me and we waved and hugged! I even saw my teacher Chris roll by on his skates, but he did see me in the crowd. He zipped over on his skates and gave me a hug. It was so sweet.

And everyone looked so MERRY!

Raoul's favorite are the marching bands. He was in marching band when he was in high school.

And Santa was the last parade float, as usual! He did a countdown...

And the downtown Christmas tree was lit up! It is such a pretty tree. I really love seeing it downtown with all the twinkle lights.

Tunesday Tuesday: the Softies

2011-11-29T19:31:00.002-05:00

For a while Raoul had asked me to make a Tunesday Tuesday post about one of our favorite bands, the Softies. The Softies are Rose and Jen, and together they make the sweetest, dare I say "softest" music around. I have loved them since my college days, and I still play their albums on heavy rotation. I have seen them play a few times "back in the day," and each time it was a real treat. I even saw them open for Superchunk! I will never forget it cos someone yelled "turn up the drums!" and well, the Softies are simply two girls and their guitars!

ICE Holiday Weekend 2011

2011-11-29T06:12:00.003-05:00

Time sure is flying over here at the Ranch! Last week was Thanksgiving, and the week before that was the ICE Atlanta holiday market! We had two very busy days and had so much fun this year. In the morning and saw the long line forming to get into ICE. The early bird shoppers all got goodie bags! That line went all the way around the block!Let's take a look.

While people waited in line, they also got some coffee and other goodies from Ursa Minor Coffee, a rolling café from Asheville, North Carolina. I had a hot chocolate and Raoul had a mango smoothie. Both were delish and was a great treat to have during a busy holdiay-filled day.

Here is our table display! We were so close to the door, everyone kept telling us we were the "Welcome Committee."

Here are some of our friend's tables from ICE.

Glue and Glitter is our friend Becky. She makes lovely aprons with cupcakes, lunch bags, and cup gloves all from recycled and vintage materials. She is the best at finding really cute fabrics and making them into wonderful things!

Fernworks and Marisol Spoon were our neighbors at the craft show. They both had some beautiful works of art at their tables, some were wearable, too.

This baby train made it all the way up the stairs! We were amazed they made it, but we never saw them leave. I wonder how they made it out of ICE?

I did a little bit of shopping myself! I did get some Sea is for Caramel chocolate bars by Sweet Teeth, a candy company in South Carolina. Yummy!

Snuggle Bunny Monday

2011-11-28T21:05:00.000-05:00

Here are some Oreo and Jumbles pictures. I thought it has been a while since we have seen some Snuggle Bunny Monday!

Ore and Jumbles are good friends, as you can tell. They often groom one another and cuddle very close to each other. Jumbles has been at our home since April and he is really making himself at home. He is getting more used to me petting him and he also does not mind when I kiss him. He is so soft! I love these bunnies.

New to Shoppe Sugar Cookie Etsy

2011-11-27T12:29:00.001-05:00

Getting my Shoppe Sugar Cookie ready for the holidays! I have added many new goodies. Please check them out. Here are some pictures of the new stuff!

Happy Acorn Wood Pin and the Dainty Squid

2011-11-26T14:40:00.002-05:00

Please check out one of my favorite blogs, the Dainty Squid. The other day Kaylah featured my Happy Acorn Wood Pin in one of her fashion photo shoots. All of these photos belong to Kaylah and are used from her blog. Aren't they gorgeous? Isn't Kaylah the most adorable gal you have ever seen? Here are some more of her pictures.

I really love the color of this sweater with the vintage dress that she is wearing in this photo. Perfect for autumn and winter.

So please check out the Dainty Squid and Shoppe Sugar Cookie for more handmade goodies!

Our Thanksgiving in Pictures

2011-11-25T12:05:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone had a fabulous and yummy Thanksgiving!

Crafty Goodness

2011-11-17T21:07:00.001-05:00

Here are some of my newest handmade goodies! I will have these goodies available at my table at ICE Atlanta this weekend!

Holiday Events

2011-11-14T19:41:00.003-05:00

We will be a some fabulous holiday markets this season, so please come by and say hi. It is always fun to meet everyone and see what they make in person. First one is ICE Atlanta and takes place on Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20, and that is at Ambient Plus Studio. Early birds get swag bags on both days!

ICE Atlanta is also having another Pop Up Shop this year. It opens on December 1 and ends on the 24. This year it is inside of Criminal Records, so not only can you come in and buy handmade gifts, you can also buy some cool comics and records to boot! Maybe they will even have a band playing in-store that day, too. What fun!

Another shop I am participating in this year is Craftland. This one is located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. So all my northern friends can go check out all the goodies at that holiday sale. I heard it is very good!

We will have a table at Chatty Crafty in Chattanooga, Tennessee! So if you miss us at these other sales, you can come see our handmade craft goodies at this one. Check it out, Chatty!

Baby Baby Buttons

2011-11-13T11:21:00.000-05:00

Our friend Erin who writes the blog Luxe and Lace asked me to make her a bunch of baby buttons. They are for a shower she is throwing for her friend who is a soon-to-be mom. She is having a girl, so of course the baby and baby elephant I drew for these buttons are all in pink!

I also made these designs in blue for baby boys, too. They can all be found at Shoppe Sugar Cookie on Etsy, where you can always convo me if you needed more than one for a baby shower!

Lovely Autumn Day

2011-11-12T17:02:00.000-05:00

I know it is not Halloween any longer, but since we have had such pretty autumn weather, I thought I would show some leaves that I made right before Halloween. I got the idea from this tutorial, only mine are not made into cards and gift tags. I love this project. I also did not press mine after I cut the initial faces from the leaves, so as they dried, the faces got a little more "character."

Tunesday Tuesday: Kathleen Hanna

2011-11-08T23:01:00.002-05:00

First off, I will say that I have been a fan of KATHLEEN HANNA of the band BIKINI KILL for a long time. Probably over half my life! I first read about Kathleen Hanna and Bikini Kill in Sassy Magazine and then found their music on the KILL ROCK STARS record label. I got their Peel Sessions 7" and I remember first listening to it on a junky record player that I got at a yard sale. My pen pal Mary Anne in New York City used to go see Bikini Kill and write to me about the experience. I was in awe. We recently had the chance to see Kathleen DJ the masquarade ball at the HIGH MUSEUM OF ART in Atlanta the weekend before Halloween. It was so awesome to see her DJ and dance with everyone in the crowd. Needless to say, I am still excited about this event, even though it was almost two weeks ago!

After a few songs and some dancing around her laptop, she shimmied her way into the crowd! She danced right in front of us! We were so thrilled.

I love seeing all the costumes from that night - everyone is dancing!

I was dancing so much, too, so all my pictures that I took are dancing, too.

Oh my - I love this photo of her, but please do not look at the creepy baby costume behind her! I should have Photoshopped that thing out, but I decided to leave it. Scary!!

I am still scared by that costume!!

So she DJ-ed late into the night - I think she played longer than the museum wanted to allow. They finally forced her to end her set even though everyone didn't want the night to end...it is just a museum afterall!

Then, after the show I got to talk to her. I told her I was the only girl in my high school that listened to Bikini Kill! And I am pretty sure I was (except for people I made mix tapes for). She is a hero of mine, so it felt good to let her know this. I gave her one of the charm necklaces I made and then Raoul took our photo.

Now let's watch some Kathleen TV. Here she is discussing zines versus blogs.

Here is a talk I saw that had some neat riot grrrl and zine history, er, herstory...

Heart-imals on Pixelgirl

2011-11-08T20:01:00.002-05:00

My friend Shana from Shana Logic asked me if I had some artwork for her to make into adorable icons for her other website Pixelgirl Presents. I made this cute collection of animals holding hearts. In this series you will find a woodland squirrel, an adorable panda, a sweet kitty cat, and a beautiful bunny. You can download your very own set of my Heart-imals desktop icons FOR ABSOLUTELY FREE RIGHT HERE.

These animals came out really cute, so be sure to let Shana know. I have been using them all week and I really think it makes my desktop so much more fun. I downloaded the Mac version, so all you need to do is unzip the file, then highlight the icon you would like to use. Then you type the key command "Apple i" and the info block will pop up. Highlight the character in the upper left of this box, and use the key command for Copy and Paste - "Apple c" and "Apple v." Okay, now you get the folder or file you wish to use the icon on, then do the info thing again ("Apple i") and Copy and Paste the icon in the upper left, thus replacing the former icon. Super! Now you have my animals on your desktop! Sweet!

Occupational Hazards 21

2011-11-04T00:51:00.003-04:00

The hallway outside the Art Department at work was filled with BALLOON SCULPTURES today, as one of our company's BALLOONIVERSITY classes was in full swing...

Sign Out

2011-11-04T00:11:00.002-04:00

Last night, Missy and I headed downtown to attend the DESIGN*SPONGE book-signing at CINE. It was the cherry on top of a busy week that started last week when Greg and Cristina (Missy's older brother and his wife) came to visit us for Halloween weekend. Last night's shindig was the THIRD book-signing we went to in 4 days...Sunday, we saw local celebrity chef HUGH ACHESON (Top Chef, 5 and 10) signing his new book at our local Barnes & Noble (we ended up not buying it because it didn't have enough vegetarian dishes...sorry Hugh!); Monday night (Halloween night) we saw DAVID SEDARIS tell stories at the Classic Center and then stood a couple of hours in line for him to sign our book; and last night, we had superstar blogger GRACE BONNEY sign our copy of her new book. Throw in seeing KATHLEEN HANNA and AD ROCK at the High Museum in Atlanta Saturday night (post coming soon) and it's safe to say that it's been a pretty star-studded week!

At Cine they had a "PHOTO BOOTH" set up for all the party goers...Gary and Missy took a turn in front of the camera:

The event was catered by local bakery IKE & JANE who provided drinks and a TON of donuts:

The room was crowded. Between the live band and clusters of hob-nobbers, things got lively and loud...

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2011-11-02T23:02:00.002-04:00

Today is my Dad's birthday. I just noticed I used the same photo of him for the last two years on his Happy Birthday post. Whoops! Here is Dad as the sheriff. Happy birthday, Dad! I love you! Did you end up putting candles on those cupcakes? Hope you had a good one!

Halloweekend

2011-11-02T22:58:00.001-04:00

I also forgot we dressed up over the weekend for the "Culture Shock" event at the High Museum. Here is my brother Greg as Vault Boy.

His wife, Cristina, was Rosie the Riveter. We saw another Rosie, too!

And Raoul and I dressed as garden gnomes again. We love these outfits and kept getting asked to be in photos! I will have to post some more pictures from the museum, but I will get to that another time...

This is Halloween

2011-10-31T07:02:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you have a great candy-filled holiday!

California Day at Royal/T

2011-10-26T23:42:00.000-04:00

Our last day in California was spent in Los Angeles. Raoul and I went to some very cute shops and art spaces. My favorite was Royal/T, a café where the waitresses dressed in gothic Lolita style. It was so neat there, and they had a great exhibit called East Village West going on, too. We saw lots of art by Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Greer Lankton, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Kenny Scharf, to name a few.

I found some of my favorite records in the art installation!

And here, too!

All that art-lookin' made me hungry. We ordered the High/T, which had a pot of tea and a variety of little cookies and fruit to try.

Needless to say it was yummy. Our favorite was the raspberries and fruit dip and the cookie on top. It had cranberries and it was super soft.

We also met my pal Jamie for a short time. She brought her Blythe dolls!

Here is Tofu Baby with Birdie. They are good fwends!

Here is Tofu Baby with York! They sure had a busy and fun day together!

Sketchbook Sunday: Adventure Time! x Epic Mickey

2011-10-23T20:25:00.004-04:00

So, my nephew, EVAN, who just turned 7 this past September, started writing ADVENTURE TIME! FAN FICTION when he was only SIX YEARS OLD, culminating in his very first 50-page GRAPHIC NOVEL/COMIC BOOK simply called "ADVENTURE TIME!" Check out the "About the Author" page-slash-table of contents...hilarious! (The "Mario" mentioned in the "about me" is the one from the SUPER MARIO BROS. video game franchise.

The drawings are rudimentary of course, but still awesome in that innocent "children's art" kinda way (the little guy was ONLY SIX when he made this - cut him some slack). Still, it's amazing to think that the he took the time to make up a story, and then actually illustrate it and put it in a notebook. Think back to when you were six years old - what did you do? I know I probably didn't do jack squat, much less write and illustrate a whole story based on my favorite cartoon (which, at that time was probably Heckle & Jeckle or Tom & Jerry...now I'm just showing my age)

I like the way he spells words by "sounding them out" and the way he frames the characters' names in boxes. My sister also pointed out that he also has a CAMERA EYE, often showing zoom-ins and zoom-outs and close-ups in his drawings...

Check out the ARM sticking out of the grave!

He's already working on his second Adventure Time! book called EPIC MICKY AND ADVENTURE TIME! (sic). I made the mistake of asking Evan if it was some sort of "cross over" fan fiction with Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters co-mingling with Adventure Time characters, but he was adamant: "No, it's NOT Mickey Mouse...it's EPIC MICKY!"

Needless to say, I'm a proud Uncle and maybe I'm projecting or getting ahead of things but...I sure hope that his inherent talent takes him to an awesome arts school like CALARTS or OTIS...I certainly think his portfolio is off to a great start! And did I mention that he's also on course towards earning his BLACK BELT in karate, probably by the time he's twelve? He's only seven and already he's making me feel like an underachiever!

Tio's Tacos, Pt. 3

2011-10-23T09:04:00.002-04:00

Here are the last set of photos from Tio's Tacos. Their method for building many of the huge figures populating the restaurant and it's gardens seem pretty simple: use CHICKEN WIRE to build a wire frame around a palm tree, light post, column, etc. then fill the frame with garbage and recyclables generated by the restaurant. The figure above was built around a lamp post on a second floor balcony and is slowly being filled in with empty BEER CANS. The TWO-HEADED CHEF below is mostly filled with DISCARDED OYSTER SHELLS in it's torso, with BEER BOTTLES filling out it's arms...

After about an hour of exploring the gardens and taking tons of photos, we finally made it into the restaurant and got some food. The sun was starting to dip and the time we took exploring built up our appetites...

Dining al fresco in the gardens...back when I used to live in Riverside, only this front patio section was open, it's only decoration being some brightly colored lanterns and these giant MARIACHI BAND cutouts. They used to have a more prominent place closer to the sidewalk and street, but are now tacked up on the side of the house as a reminder of Tio's humble beginings...

Raoul's Birthday Cake

2011-10-22T11:09:00.003-04:00

I made Raoul a birthday brownie, really, not a cake. But we are okay with that. We caught a cold and have been resting and recovering, but I managed to bake this before I felt too terrible. I also had to decorate it special for Raoul.

We enjoyed the brownie very much, but now we are enjoying cups of tea with lots of honey!

Happy Birthday to Raoul!

2011-10-19T20:49:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday to my sweetie, Raoul! I hope you had a great birthday. We went to visit Raoul's family in California for his birthday. It was a great birthday vacation for us both. Here is the yummy cake Raoul's mom made and decorated. I really like the cut out music notes, apples, and lettering. Oh and I really liked the cake, too. We are resting now after long flights yesterday and relaxing while I bake Raoul a birthday brownie. Super! I love you, Raoul.

Tio's Tacos, Pt. 2

2011-10-17T09:44:00.004-04:00

Next to the little chapel made of glass bottles was this little shed guarded by beloved Mexican TV characters EL CHAVO DEL OCHO and superhero EL CHAPULIN. As a kid I would always run across these characters on the spanish language channels while trying to find something interesting to watch...while I might've not understood everything they were saying, I was still able to get the humor...

One of my favorite figures was this one made out of discarded PLASTIC TOYS. He towered over everyone clutching and empty BOTTLE OF VODKA...

"NOT THE MAMA!"

The creepy figure next to it had a torso made up of discarded BARBIE DOLLS...

A different kind of POOH BEAR (yeah, I went there...)

Missy, still cracking' up about my Pooh Bear joke...

The statue of DAVID, only you pronounce it "dah-VID"...

They had this MOSAIC FREEWAY in one of the courtyards with HOTWHEELS AND MATCHBOX cars paved into the cement. They even had the iconic posts with the iconic BELL TOWER, which is the symbol of Riverside, lining the street...

A line of DISNEY characters paved into the walkway...oh, and I *just* noticed that MILLENIUM FALCON! Wish I took a better photo of that...

These sculptures of a woman and man were actually fountains with water flowing out of their, ahem, "EROGENOUS ZONES"...

More of that heavy duty Catholic vibe...

A WICKED WITCH made out of BEER CANS and KEGS...

There was this CART that was being pulled by HUMANS, while the HORSES enjoyed being the drivers for a change...

This was the beginning of another huge figure being built around the trunk of a giant palm tree. So far, they only had the legs and bottom half done, with this strange HEAD protruding from the crotch. The BOWTIE was actually a PILLOW, cinched in the middle...

The kids and Missy crammed themselves into this little tiled GAZEBO...

We tried going into their little GIFT SHOP, but unfortunately, it was closed...

Tio's Tacos, Pt. 1

2011-10-16T11:44:00.003-04:00

OK, so Friday we went to this restaurant in DOWNTOWN RIVERSIDE called TIO'S TACOS. Back in the day, it was this little mom and pop mexican restaurant down by the sketchy bus station where all the drug addicts, homeless, and prostitutes hung out. You didn't go anywhere near there if you didn't have any business being there, let alone grab a bite to eat. You just didn't do that. Unless you were craving AUTHENTIC MEXICAN FOOD. I remember people saying that you could get "brain tacos" there. Anyways, Tio's always had these funny colored lights and wooden cut outs of MARIACHIS hanging out in the front of the building. Amusing, but never enough to draw me in...

...cut to over 20 years later...the folks at Tio's have been busy indeed, working slowly but surely to make their restaurant a destination. If the MISSION INN is the "crown jewel" of Riverside, then Tio's Tacos is it's wonderfully perverse "buried treasure". Behind the buildings which house the restaurant and a gift shop are the "GARDENS" filled with JUNK YARD SCULPTURES to rival those of other weirdly obsessive folk artists that came before. If the REV. HOWARD FINSTER were Mexican, he would've made the gardens at Tio's Tacos for sure. The gardens are the "WATTS TOWERS" of the Inland Empire, and if you live anywhere in California or any parts near by, then you should add this to your ROADSIDE AMERICA checklist and make the pilgrimage...you won't be disappointed!

Words can't even describe fully how jaw-droppingly awesome the gardens are, and photos certainly won't do the place any justice. You really have to go and experience the gardens for yourself. Add it to your bucket list. I took so many photos there that I'm going to have to break them up into 2 or 3 separate posts. The gardens are all at once, mysterious, hilarious, monumental, inspirational, and creepy. That old saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure" fits the bill like a glove. Riverside, to me, has always been about making do with what you've got, and this is that spirit personified...we wandered around the gardens for a good 45 minutes before we even thought about ordering food, our minds lost in exploring and soaking up every little bizarre detail before us...

I have no idea what's going on in this scene, but check out the guy with HORSE UNDERWEAR...

My nephew Evan tries his best to "ride' a BICYCLE that's been EMBEDDED in the walkway. All manner of debris was used in the paved pathways, embedded in-between ceramic tiles and up-cycled BEER BOTTLES...

Another bicycle in the walkway...and check out that half-buried GNOME, just chillin' out with nothing better to do than check out your busted old shoes...

This character was really funny...not sure who he is, but check out his NAKED LADY TATTOO...hilarious!

This dude was pulled up into the trees by this giant ANACONDA, made out of an old FLEXIBLE HOSE...the kids kept calling him INDIANA JONES...

Missy and Julia tested out the big swing they had...

There were all these GIANT ANTS made with metal and rocks...

In the very back of the gardens were these little buildings which I called SHRINES...there was a little CHURCH made out of beer bottles, a little SHACK with a LIVING ROOF made out of all these SUCCULENTS and CACTUS, and a giant teepee-shaped building that looked kinda like humongous DALEK. Every time I looked at the building I heard the word, "EXTERMINATE!"

We took a peek inside the little chapel which was adorned with statues of saints, angels, martyrs...it was a veritable CATHOLIC WHO'S WHO. The ceiling was painted Sistine Chapel-style...

Outside, on the roof of another building, figures raced on TRICYCLES and BICYCLES like lemmings to the sea...

California Dreamin'

2011-10-16T04:50:00.009-04:00

Hello! Just a quick message to let you know that Missy and I are currently in SUNNY CALIFORNIA on VACATION! Needless to say, we're having a blast...

Here's Missy kicking things off with some artery-clogging CHEESE FRIES while waiting for our flight in Atlanta...

Our view from the window, overlooking Georgia (90% of all the times I've flown, I've had this exact same view, behind the wing on the "driver's side")

The SKYMALL catalog sells the most amazing things ever...check out these TIME MACHINES FOR CATS!

With no in-flight movie to keep us occupied, Missy decided to sketch out some new designs...

Our in-flight "MEAL"...good thing we brought snacks!

In Phoenix, we hustled to catch our connecting flight to Ontario (California, not Canada). MOVING SIDEWALKS are awesome. If you walk on them quickly, you move as fast as you would if you were moderately jogging, but with a fraction of the effort. An hour later, we arrived in California late in the evening (by plane, not by moving sidewalk)...

The next morning at my parents' house, Missy got to meet my niece LILLIAN for the first time. Check her out...she enjoys having snack time while watching movies on her own little DVD player...WHAT A COUNTRY!

Later, Lilian and Missy played their own version of JENGA, only with DOMINO TILES. At first, I thought they were using MAHJONG TILES. I was like, "Dang, I didn't know they made CARE BEARS and DORA THE EXPLORER mahjong tiles!"...but of course, they were just domino tiles...

We told Lillian that we were taking her to DISNEYLAND. Then, we took her out to the backyard and put her on the swing...SUCKER!

My dad lurked in the bushes and took photos too...

Then, BELINDA and SHAWN (my sister and her husband), showed up with EVAN and JULIA (Lillian's older brother and sister), and they promised to take us somewhere MAGICAL for lunch. We left Lillian to nap with my parents and hit the street. On the way there, we stopped at this suburban ranch to pet these AWESOME ZEBRAS...I explained to Missy that Riverside is a "HORSE TOWN"...there's lotsa people here who own horses and zebras are basically just "horses with stripes"...

Soon enough, we waved goodbye to our striped friends and headed to this "magical oasis" in downtown Riverside. We turned down this little street into this little lot where this mysterious 40-FOOT TALL MONSTER, MADE OUT OF TRASH, greeted us with outstretched fingers. Who knew that crazy-ass zebras and magical trash monsters were all just within 15 minutes of my parents house?

(I guess this wasn't such a quick post after all!)

Occupational Hazards 20

2011-10-11T20:27:00.000-04:00

Giant HELLO KITTY BALLOON lurkin' while we were wurkin'.

Weekend Wind-Down #135

2011-10-09T19:29:00.003-04:00

Bonus images from our visit to ZOO ATLANTA on Missy's birthday last month (my birthday is coming up next week!)

Oh, THE IRONY:

Photo booth shenanigans:

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Sleeping in this weekend.
RAOUL - Sleeping in felt good, but it messed up my weekend goals.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Waiting all week to see A Hawk And A Hacksaw, showing up to the venue in Atlanta after a long day at work Friday, only to have the band tell you they can't play because of a "hurt finger"
RAOUL - Friday night was the worse...all of the above plus getting stuck in traffic on the way home.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Cracking wise about the opening band.
RAOUL - Winning the Reeses peanut butter cup at that bookstore after figuring out their word game.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "I'm sorry...did I wake you?"
RAOUL - "I'm sorry...did I wake you?"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Brunch at The Grit.
RAOUL - Brunch at The Grit...but it nearly killed me.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Kiss Oreo, kiss Nilla, kiss Jumbles.
RAOUL - Vacation, vacation, birthday.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Beirut, Seapony, Beat Happening, Belle & Sebastian.
RAOUL - St. Vincent, The Pixies, Ultra Vivid Scene, Beat Happening, The Cure, Belly, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Breeders, Unrest, That Dog, Battles. LCD Soundsystem, The Sea And Cake.

Snuggle Bunny Sunday

2011-10-09T12:35:00.001-04:00

Silly Rabbit

2011-10-08T19:48:00.002-04:00

Missy is in the middle of sewing BUNNY-SHAPED HAND PUPPETS and I couldn't help but laugh at this photo that she took and uploaded to her INSTAGRAM. Part crucifixion, part voodoo doll, part crime scene outline, the photo just appealed to our dark sense of humor...

Lovin' The Oven

2011-10-08T11:47:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to give a SHOUT OUT to the "cooler weather" which has allowed us to use THE OVEN more. We made these STUFFED PEPPERS with cooked rice, an assortment of cherry tomatoes from our local CSA, some squash, some asparagus, and bits and pieces of GARDEN BURGER, which Missy cooked and then crumbled up...throw in some herbs and seasonings, bake in the oven, and viola...satisfied stomach.

Badge-O-Rama!

2011-10-06T23:30:00.004-04:00

Missy has been busy designing some new ONE INCH BADGES. Check out her MINI SPOOKY badge set, available in her ETSY SHOP, just in time for Halloween! Or dress up your outfit/backpack/tote bag/etc. with the unabashed cuteness of Missy's SNUGGLE LOVE set, featuring a bunny, panda, squirrel and kitty hugging a buncha hearts...

Love Mexican fast food? Show your love with MINI MEXICAN FOOD badge set...DELICIOSO!

Missy's POWER ANIMAL set (featuring a PORPOISE, a PONY, and a UNICORN) will help you get in touch with the "LISA FRANK" lurking deep inside us all...

And of course, more animal buttons inspired by our trip to the zoo last month...like these critters from AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND! or these critters from the SERENGETI...

SOUP! 'sup?

Nilla One-Hundred And Sixteen

2011-10-06T22:07:00.001-04:00

Weekend Wind-Down #134

2011-10-05T23:17:00.003-04:00

I know I must've said it over the past couple of Weekend Wind-Down posts but dammit, one of these days I'm gonna get back on track and actually post it on a Sunday! As usual, the past week got pretty hectic and then it spilled over into the weekend. A couple of huge orders landed in our collective lap and we ended up spending most of the weekend manufacturing, packaging, and packing. Knowing that the next couple of weeks were going to be jam-packed, we buckled down and took care of business. Nowadays, it's good to have a side hustle and, quite frankly, the hustle has been good to us...so we have to respect the hustle...

While Missy sorted a mess of ONE INCH BUTTONS into little bio-degradable baggies, I worked on packaging individual NOTEPADS:

STEP ONE:

STEP TWO:

STEP THREE:

Then, repeat steps one thru three several hundred times...

As we worked, we put on different movies and documentaries in the background to help keep us motivated...

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Getting to "draw" on the wall at ATHICA for the Mystery Selections exhibition!
RAOUL - Seeing the Mystery Selections show come together was interesting, challenging, and fun.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Catching a slight cold/tummy bug over the weekend.
RAOUL - Trying to find parking downtown on a Friday night before game day.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - I shouldn't have ate that chocolate thing...
RAOUL - Finally got to watch Bridesmaids.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - "I shouldn't have ate that chocolate thing..."
RAOUL - "Green-ass broccoli"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Spaghetti and "meatballs"
RAOUL - Spaghetti with vegetarian "meatballs"

PERSONAL GOAL FOR NEXT WEEK?
MISSY - Get my order packed up for Craftland.
RAOUL - Ummm...post the next Weekend Wind-Down on a Sunday.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK-AND-A-HALF?
MISSY - Alessi's Ark, Laura Marling, Beirut, A Hawk And A Hacksaw.
RAOUL - REM, 10,000 Maniacs, Beirut, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Rocketship, The Beautiful South, Saint Etienne, Momus, LCD Soundsystem, DJ Krush, The Drums.

Bling Bling For Your Ring Ring

2011-10-03T21:20:00.003-04:00

Missy was excited to get this new iPHONE CASE in the mail today...it features a snazzy DIAMOND PATTERN that she designed herself! BLANG BLANG.

Illustration Friday - Hibernation

2011-10-03T19:40:00.004-04:00

The word of the week on Illustration Friday is hibernation. So I drew a little fox hibernating. My mom told be they have a red fox living in their neighborhood in Pennsylvania! They saw it a few times now. I wish to see it when I visit sometime. I feel like hibernating lately - we are just getting some nice cool weather here in Georgia. I tis much needed after such a long summer. I am loving the chilly mornings and having the house be colder inside than it is outside. It really makes me want to hibernate in my bed!

Very Metal

2011-10-03T07:02:00.001-04:00

A couple weeks ago I started a class on Jewelry Design and Metalwork at the University of Georgia. So far I have only had two classes, so I have really just begun. Actually, I did take a class on this before, when Raoul first moved to Athens. Only that one was at the Lyndon House. The UGA class will go a little more in depth than my previous class.

Right now we are learning to saw the flat pieces of brass and copper to start. I like using the little teeny weeny saw - it is almost like using a sewing machine. Sometimes I worry about the small bits of metal getting stuck to my clothing or my hands!

We are learning to pierce the metal with the saw, too. I am making a rain drop here. I am also making the squirrel, but I did not take a picture of that yet. Yay! How fun is it to be a student after being out of college for over ten years.

Ain't No Such Things As Halfway

2011-10-02T23:10:00.003-04:00

(artwork by Darcy Reenis)

Friday night was the opening reception for the MYSTERY SELECTIONS show at ATHICA...needless to say, it was a lot of fun, though I do believe I might've picked up a cold while we were out...

They introduced all the artists who were taking part in the exhibition. From left to right: our own Missy Kulik, Rebecca Brantley, Will Eskridge, Cindy Jerrell, Jorie Berman, and Darcy Reenis.

Afterwards, Havi entertained Missy and Laura with her crazy stories, and then she drew a TEMPORARY TATTOO on Missy's arm...

I really dug the bold graphic style of Darcy Reenis...

The wall with Missy's pieces...

Missy discusses prices with an interested buyer:

The wall featuring Cindy Jerrell's awesome art...

Missy poses in front of Rebecca Brantley's installation...

A collection of sculptures by Jorie Berman...

Will Eskridge had these dioramas built in these boxes that were only visible through peepholes...they also had wind-up music boxes built into them. I really liked the RAD CAT painting he did...having grown up in Southern California I have an affinity to the word "rad". The initials of my full name also happen to be RAD (Raoul Antonio de la Cruz), so there's that too...

After the reception, we had a late night dinner downtown at COZY YUM YUM, with our friends Mark, Laura, and Gary. Gary decided to cap the night with GINGER ICE CREAM, which came served in a martini glass...

Mystery Selections

2011-09-29T19:49:00.003-04:00

MISSY, along with five other artists (Rebecca Brantley, Will Eskridge, Jorie Berman, Cindy Jerell, and Darcy Reenis), was selected from the 124 artists who participated in ATHICA's MYSTERY TRIENNIAL to showcase more of their art in a new show called MYSTERY SELECTIONS. What an honor! Though the show is tomorrow (Friday) night, Missy was asked to make a SITE-SPECIFIC piece, exclusively for ATHICA, and she only had last night to execute it...yikes! So, we packed some art supplies and headed over to the gallery yesterday evening after work...the first order of business was photographing the pieces of Missy's work that the interns had already mounted to the wall, along with the few pieces waiting to be incorporated into the tableau. They needed to list titles for each piece, but weren't sure how to title and name each one in an easy and convenient way, since there were so many of them. We decided to take photos of everything and then use the magic of PHOTOSHOP to add titles over the images which the interns could print out and then use to help them come up with an item/price list...

Missy is showing some of the laser-cut wood pieces she designed, along with a collection of collages, prints and drawings. The interns, using white ACID-FREE gloves, held up some missing pieces for the camera...

After checking out some of the other artists' pieces that were up (like Cindy's awesome inter-active PUPPET THEATER) it was time for work. It was decided that Missy would draw one of her infamous TOFU BABY comics directly onto the wall...only it would be twenty times larger than the normal size of her strip. A spontaneous drawing JAM SESSION happened as Missy sketched up some quick ideas in her notebook while young Havi did some drawings of her own...

Missy used a large PAPER TEMPLATE to help pencil in guidelines for each comic panel. Then she used a little square piece of paper to put in guidelines for Tofu Baby, so that she would appear roughly the same size in each panel. Once Missy penciled out the guidelines for the comic, she went to work on the wall with a couple of PAINT MARKERS...as she marked on the wall she joked, "I'm having a BEAUTIFUL LOSERS moment right now!" in reference to the street art documentary Beautiful Losers...

After the comic was done, we removed the tarps so that Missy could do some minor repairs on some of the collage pieces...

Before we left for the night, Missy decided to add a little something for her pint-sized Tofu Baby fans...

Weekend Wind-Down #133

2011-09-27T23:23:00.003-04:00

This past weekend was one of the first non-eventful weekends we had in a while. We finally got the NEW MIRROR up in the master bathroom, grabbed some refreshing BUBBLE TEA, then ran a bunch of errands...we stopped at PETSMART to stock up on supplies for the kids...

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - My parents visiting for my birthday!
RAOUL - Hanging out at Zoo Atlanta turned out to be super fun.

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - Getting lost on my first day of class at UGA.
RAOUL - Getting my car registration renewal in the mail.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - Watching Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd with my parents!
RAOUL - Your dad giving Sweeney Todd the MST3K treatment.

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY -"Noodles, sauerkraut, cottage cheese"
RAOUL - "Boy, that guy couldn't carry a tune in a bucket!"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - Cafe Sunflower on my birthday was really good...
RAOUL - Dinner on Missy's birthday at Sunflower Cafe.

PERSONAL RESOLUTION FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Try to go to bed early.
RAOUL - Eat all the bananas before they go bad.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
MISSY - Alessi's Ark, Gold-Bears, Bjork, Seapony, Beat Happening, Belle & Sebastian, Tattle Tale, WTF Podcast, NPR.
RAOUL - Teenbeat Records' "1996 Sampler", Romania, The Human League, Depeche Mode, New Order, Hot Chip, Interpol, Nitzer Ebb, LCD Soundsystem, Satisfact, Just Say Mao compilation (Volume III of Just Say Yes), Battles, Ministry, The Kinks, Kreayshawn.

International Rabbit Day

2011-09-27T20:29:00.002-04:00

Totally did not know, but yesterday was International Rabbit Day! How could we forget our beloved buns? I knew about this from this article on Etsy's blog that I read this morning. You really need to watch the Bunny Playlist cos it features the very talented and funny Amy Sedaris! And Amy also has pet rabbits, too! I have also made the Dynamite Sticks for our bunnies.

Hooray for Bunnies! Hooray for our bunnies, Oreo and Jumbles!

Aw, look - they made a bunny heart!

Prickly Pair Buttons Featured on Cuteable

2011-09-25T12:34:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week My Prickly Pair Button Set had a write up on the awesomely adorable blog called Cuteable! Wow! We have been Cuteable fans for a while now, so that is very nice. Thanks so much Lynsey and Matt!

Cloud Drawings - Duckling and Baby Bunny

2011-09-24T11:55:00.001-04:00

We saw some very good clouds while driving around one day. This is one that looked like a duckling! Can you see it?

I know I always see bunnies in the clouds, but here is another baby bun! Maybe I always see bunnies in them because it reminds me of our bunnies, Oreo and Jumbles?

Zoo Day Birthday

2011-09-20T23:32:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday was my birthday. I got to choose the activity, so we headed to Zoo Atlanta to see some of their new baby animals. My parents and I went a few years ago, but they have more baby animals that have been born within the last year or so. I thought that this was the best thing to do before they grew up. Here are some of my favorite photos I took that day.

Here are the kangaroos eating some kale. They have a baby kangaroo, too. We saw the momma and you can tell she had a joey in her pouch.

Here she is standing with the baby in her pouch. The zoo keepers said the baby was born six months ago and has not left the pouch yet.

There is the baby's paw - can you see it? They also told us that the baby will be out and about within the next month. They told me the kangaroos have soft fur.

We went round to the pandas habitat next. This one was outside eating bamboo. They have a new baby panda, but we could not see this panda. I think it was hiding from everyone.

Here is the momma panda. She kept scratching her bum on this branch in their home.

This panda is the three year old baby. So big for a baby!

Next was the petting zoo! These goats and sheep are really sweet.

Then we came back around and got to see the kangaroos again! We spotted the baby in the pouch! It was amazing! Sooooo cute and adorable. It makes me want a baby kangaroo now.

I thought they were so cute.

The momma giraffe and baby were so beautiful. Here they are. They were grazing on the leaves and grass in the back of their home. They share their home with zebra and ostrich. They baby was born in July.

These two were very lovey-dovey! You can tell.

Then there was the baby gorillas! This is the youngest baby gorilla.

Such a sweet face. I love it.

You can see another baby that is riding on the back of the mom. That is the older baby gorilla.

This is my best picture of the tiger cubs. They are super cute. They were resting in the sunshine.

One of my favorites is the otter. The otters were really playful, too!

The young orangutan liked to be a show off for the crowd.

This is the orangutan momma and baby! How cute they are.

Here is another favorite of mine - the red panda. This is the best picture I got. I had to be fast to get a picture of this red panda. I love the color fur and the markings on the face.

The naked mole rats were strange!!

And these wild animals even stranger - oh wait, that is my Mom and Dad! Sorry!!

And there was some pictures from our trip to the zoo.

Two Steps Forward, Three Sinks Back

2011-09-20T20:33:00.002-04:00

There's an funny story behind the TWO SINKS that are currently sitting in our front yard...prior to coming down for her birthday this past weekend, Missy's parents had been busy renovating their BASEMENT BATHROOM. They decided to bring down the old (but still fairly newish) sink that they were replacing. The idea was that they would replace the junky, damaged, chipped, ill-fitting sink in our MASTER BATHROOM (the one pictured at the very top of the photo) with their much better old one (the sink below that one), which was clearly in much better shape. Well, after removing our old sink, they discovered, much to their chagrin, that their sink fit even worse on the cabinet than the one that was already on there. Before coming down from Pennsylvania, Missy's parents had her measure the length of the cabinet which was perfectly sized - but they neglected to measure the depth of the cabinet, which was three inches longer than the sink they brought down...DOH! So, Missy and her mother went to HOME DEPOT to buy a THIRD SINK - one that would at the very least fit the cabinet perfectly...

...during the process, they also removed a large square MIRROR which was glued to the wall, covering almost all of it, along with a super 70s-looking LIGHT FIXTURE (alas, I was at work when they started on this, so there aren't any "before" photos). They updated the fixture and spackled, sanded, and painted the wall that was behind the old mirror. The oval mirror shown below is just a temporary fix until we find a nice replacement...a bit more painting needs to be done...

I joked that in the meantime, we should plant flowers in the two sinks sitting in the front yard...instant CURB APPEAL.

Happy Birthday 2011, Missy!

2011-09-18T20:22:00.003-04:00

Missy's parents are in town to help us celebrate MISSY'S BIRTHDAY, which was yesterday. We pretty much spent the entire day in Atlanta, mostly hanging out at ZOO ATLANTA, which turned out to be a lot of fun (post and pictures coming soon).

Anyways, we went to BASKIN-ROBBINS and got this ICE CREAM CAKE, then decided to decorate it kinda like a BUCHE DE NOEL...a birthday Buche de Noel. We got candles (hard to believe Missy is 36, am I right?) and a buncha WOODLAND ANIMALS to decorate it in true MORI-GIRL style...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISSY!

Flossy Featured on Best of the Web

2011-09-15T20:31:00.001-04:00

My Flossy the Dachshund Embroidery Floss Bobbins were featured today on the neat blog, Be@Home. Please have a look, as it is very nice to have my personal website on this week’s Best of the Web with other fab bloggers! And you can find all my Flossy Bobbins right here. Super!

Nilla One-Hundred And Fifteen

2011-09-14T20:04:00.003-04:00

NILLA got caught stealing from the rabbits' WATER SUPPLY...under OREO's watchful eye, she suffered the consequences...

Weekend Wind-Down #132

2011-09-13T00:23:00.003-04:00

We finally put up some art in the living room - two newly acquired prints from A FINE LITTLE DAY that we're digging on a lot...we're so tempted to collect more prints from them...

FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Mark's birthday pizza party!
RAOUL - Seeing Mark and Laura was nice...been a while!

WORST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Not feeling good.
RAOUL - Total exhaustion on Sunday / lingering exhaustion on Monday.

FUNNIEST MOMENT OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Mark's surprise b-day party!
RAOUL - There was a moment on "House Hunters" that was pretty funny...

WORD OR PHRASE OF THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - "Minus"
RAOUL - "Newly formed ghost"

FAVORITE MEAL OF THE PAST WEEK?
MSSY - Dinner at Cafe Sunflower!
RAOUL - Oh dang...the Basil "Chicken" and peanut butter mousse at Cafe Sunflower. Nom.

THREE THINGS ON YOUR TO-DO LIST FOR THIS WEEK?
MISSY - Clean up before my parents get here, pay some bills, go to bed early.
RAOUL - Clean up before Missy's parents get here, fill a couple more leaf bags, celebrate Missy's birthday.

PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK FOR THE PAST WEEK?
MISSY - Beulah, Tender Trap, Small Factory, Sebadoh, Sci-Fi Caper, Lesley Gore, Julianna Hatfield, Heavens To Betsy, Stereo Total, Beirut.
RAOUL - K Records' "International Hip Swing" comp, Stereo Total, Oval, Supermarket, Icerink Records' "We Are Icerink" comp, The Hummingbirds, le Grand Majestery's "Was It Him Or His Music?" comp, The Magnetic Fields, Vinyl Japan's "Whaam! Bam! Thank You Dan!" comp, Gnarls Barkley, Kanda, Saint Etienne, Yo La Tengo, Primal Scream, The Orb, Beirut, XLR8R Magazine podcast.

Classic Line-Ups

2011-09-12T20:51:00.005-04:00

Lately, I've been working on this pet project that involves framing CLASSIC LINE-UPS of some of my favorite bands...I've seen this done on posters and t-shirts, the last names of the Beatles being the version I've seen the most. In this case, I've listed the last names of some truly classic line-ups of more obscure bands that I like...well, certainly more obscure than the Beatles...

Buttons Buttons Buttons

2011-09-12T07:33:00.003-04:00

These are some of my newest button sets that are ready for sale in SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE and on MISSYKULIK.COM! Get yerself some cutness today!

Skyline

2011-09-11T12:21:00.002-04:00

I was reminded today of this photo of my sister, Cynthia, and our friend, Brian, posing with the old NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE...

Mama Told Me Not To Come

2011-09-10T07:34:00.004-04:00

We went to our friend MARK's surprise BIRTHDAY PARTY last night. His cake had this famous (and edible) NORMAN ROCKWELL image on it (Mark's an artist/painter/illustrator). We heartily consumed the cake hoping to ingest the spirit of Norman Rockwell, like it was some sort of holy Eucarist - only, instead of communion wafers and a goblet of wine there was CAKE and shots of JACK and/or AMARETTO. Norman would've approved, right? We're envious of the wooden ZOMBIE TABLETOP BOWLING SET Mark got...

Happy Birthday, Mark!

Loved Letter Lockets

2011-09-07T22:06:00.002-04:00

This week I have been working on some new MINIATURE LOCKETS! These all have miniature original ARTWORK that is hidden inside the brass colored envelope. These drawings are so small! No bigger than a quarter! For this one I drew an arrow.

Here is one with a violet feather drawing in the envelope. Since my envelope charms are antique brass, I made my little artwork that style, too - I just dyed the paper with some of my favorite black tea. I let it dry all the way then I drew on the paper.

I really like how these charms look. Here is the pink feather drawing, too.

And each miniature artwork has a heart drawn on the back side.

All three of these charms are ready for you in my SHOPPE SUGAR COOKIE on ETSY.