carrie girl

cocoon

i literally stood in front of the martha stewart paint samples for 20 minutes on the verge of tears because i couldn't decide on a color.  i'm an indecisive libra who had a horrible day at work, so doing a simple thing like picking a paint color became pretty overwhelming.  silly, i know.  anyway i teetered on the verge of a super dark navy called "umbrella" but ended up on the safe side with "cocoon." 
martha's colors are pretty amazing, but the names of some of them are kinda weird, like, "scented notepaper." what does that even look like?  she did have a ton with crafty names like, "sewing basket" "spool" "vintage rickrack"  and my favorite, "tag sale yellow."
hopefully i'll tackle this paint job friday after work and be finished by sunday.  or at least, move the thing out of the middle of the living room...

here's hoping tomorrow is better day!

paint colors?

i busted out the bike for the first time last night to meet some friends downtown for a little happy hour.  after a whole iowa winter spent on the porch i was a little concerned about her condition, but after a quick stop to the free air pump in the dairy queen parking lot, she was ready to go.  i started off last summer with a really amazing turquoise vintage bike that had a matching bag, but the chain kept falling off.
after one afternoon of standing on the corner downtown and calling ted for a ride back to the house because my bike couldn't cut it...she had to go.  enter, my green hiawatha from goodwill (i can always count on you, goodwill.) i can't wait to ride more--especially now that gas is virtually the price of gold.
oh! and i got the most amazing dresser/armoire/storage unit from goodwill yesterday.  it's huge.  luckily my landlord was nice enough to help me get it home in his car because the little yaris would have been crushed under all the weight.  i didn't take any pictures yet due to poor lighting last night, but i'm stopping by lowe's on the way home from work today for paint samples.  any suggestions for colors to paint a rather large dresser/armoire/storage unit??

sunny

it snowed yesterday---actual flakes fell from the sky, but mother nature seems to be back on track today with sunny skies and a high of 52.  let's hope she can keep it together.

i realized my last post about actual sewing was back on april 5th.  has it been that long? i've been pretty focused on my gocco and the computer, so i guess something had to give.  i think my creative interests go in waves...right now it's screen printing, next month it will be something else (hopefully back to sewing!)

these beautiful beads are from a great etsy store called atomic veggie. 

tv overload

this weekend i vegged out big time. today alone, i watched four episodes of pushing daisies, two episodes of miss guided, and two episodes of lipstick jungle.  i was cleaning up the craft studio, folding laundry and taking inventory of the vintage store at the same time, but it felt so good to be, well, a little lazy.
i got this book in the mail on saturday, and dug right in.  i knew of most of these printing techniques, but it's nice to have them all together in one beautiful book.  i've got my sights set on lino-block printing next.

thrifting went well this weekend, and with the aid of coffee, an abbreviated route, and a long nap afterward, we both remained happy campers (and walked away with tons of good stuff!!) i'm hoping to have the shop updated by the end of the week.

here's hoping for a sunny, stress-less week!

friday, sweet, friday

here is my first attempt at illustrator on my own.  i made this little quail on a break during my class--it's really fun, but sort of frustrating when you're trying to bend a little line one way, but then it starts to warp another way.  i think practice is the key, though, and not to get too frustrated!

i could not be happier that it is friday.  i am totally fried today. i'm actually sitting here at my desk eating oatmeal, drinking a red bull, and trying not to fall asleep. this weekend should be pretty low-key-- here's what is on the agenda so far...

*thrifting: ted actually wants to go with me...i can't believe it.  that means i need to plot out the best route with the most coffee stops along the way to ensure we both stay happy.

*getting a membership to sam's club: after reading this article in the wall street journal, i am convinced there will be food riots in iowa--i am envisioning people storming the doors of the quaker oats plant and demanding oatmeal and rice cakes.  i think i'll skip the riots and just start buying in bulk (i hate the word bulk.)

*cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. i think that sums it up.

*relaxing and getting some sleep!

hope you all have a great weekend, too!

gocco-ing machine

i went through eight bulbs last night making screens for my gocco.  i'm working on a few more brooches, some old designs and a couple new.  i wish that there were more options when it came to gocco cloth paints.  i tried jacquard gold paint for one part, and it was a total disaster. the paint was too thin, too messy,  and didn't show up dark enough on the linen.  maybe it was because i was using gold and not a primary color, but i think i'll skip wasting any more screens and stick with gocco paint--unless anyone has any suggestions for alternate inks...

the countdown has begun

spring is here...finally.  i'm worried, though, that we're going to skip right by it and jump into summer.  it's supposed to be 74 degrees today--i need at least 2 weeks of jacket/non-sweaty weather for it to count as spring.

my illustrator class is so good.  i'm actually learning how to draw in illustrator, which is something that totally and completely intimidates me.  right now, i just work in photoshop (poorly) but hopefully by the end of this i can be creating my gocco designs in illustrator. 

off to work---31 days of school left!!

colonel mustard

this is my new favorite color--i mean, green will always be my favorite favorite color, but mustard yellow has been on the brain lately.  this particular yarn will become viking braids for one of the half dozen projects i have strewn about my studio. i'm finding that carving out some crafting time in the evenings this week is going to be difficult.  i signed up for a class at the local community college to really learn how to use adobe illustrator, so that lasts from 5:30-9:30. my first class is tomorrow night which means i'm going to miss out on watching the pennsylvania returns. BUT, it is a class on the computer which means i'll have internet access and, in turn, access to a myriad of political websites so as not to miss all the pundit banter. in truth, i'm just really ready for this to be over...is there a light at the end of this tunnel?

i've decided to have my first sale in the ye olde vintage shoppe.  if you've been eyeing anything in the shop, now is your chance to snatch it up for 30% off through april 27th!  all you have to do is enter the discount code, COLONELMUSTARD, into your 'notes to seller' box.

here's more details about how it's going to work...

1. first add an item from my shop to your cart and start the check out process.
2. enter the code in the 'notes to seller' and the email address where the revised invoice should be sent.
3. complete the order but do NOT go to paypal to pay.
4. you will receive a revised invoice, and a link to complete payment, via email reflecting the 30% off.

deer family

so i'm off for another weekend adventure, but this time i'm headed to kansas city for a bridal shower.  it also happens to be the annual garage sale of the neighborhood where i grew up.  i couldn't believe my luck when i saw it on craigslist.  i remember walking around the neighborhood when i was 10 with my good friend kristine buying bags of crap for a quarter. i guess i had to get my start somewhere.

i found this nice deer family sitting on a shelf in this exact pose at a salvation army in downtown cedar rapids.  they'll end up in the shop during my next update, but for now i think they'll enjoy ushering in spring from my bookcase.

have a great weekend!

crazy for pyrex

since i've started going to thrift stores pretty much every week and selling the things that i find, i have really cut back on the amount of items that i keep for myself.  i think, in part, starting my vintage store was a way for me to recycle some of the really amazing things that i've had on a shelf or in my cabinets and give them a new life in another space.  while i have definitely cut back on my vintage intake, i haven't totally kicked the "keep if for myself" habit when it comes to pyrex.  man, i love this stuff.  i bought my first dish (the olive green one in the top left corner) just because i needed a caserole dish and liked the color. i really loved it, and started keeping an eye out for new colors or shapes when i went thrifting.  right now, i have about 9 pieces all in different colors and shapes, and there's definitely more to be found.  i use the smaller ones to hold crafting supplies on my shelf, and the others for general kitchen purposes.   i fantasize about one day having a beautiful kitchen filled with colorful pyrex and the ability to whip up gourmet meals in an instant...in my pyrex.