hey ya'll

it's been a while!

not a whole lot has been happening in terms of etsy, i've taken on a few commissions since the last post but haven't really made anything on my own for a while since i've been working 7 days a week for the most part :T i did make a couple books for halloween, which was fun :) even with tea staining and baking one book's papers, something i swore i'd never do again ;)

looks like i'll be missing the next book swap for best, but i've got a book to make for a friend and then i have some extra paper folded and punched, ready to bind! i'm excited about using some of my new japanese paper! and these next two weeks will be a little less busy production-wise, what with thanksgiving and all, so i should have time to work on books! hooray!

life-wise, i've been working at effinfunny for a couple months now and it's been great! they actually brought me to work on "the guild" with them, so i've been the art p.a. since almost the beginning of this season. they also teamed up with machinima.com to work on some projects and i've been helping with those. one of the videos they did on the election got on the carson daly show, so that was pretty neat! they also took me to blizzcon for a day, which was very nice of them :)

starbucks didn't quite work out, but i'm still workin at sushi! hoping that little production gigs here and there will cover the amount that i'm not making from a second job, but i don't think that's really going to happen so after i get back from my two week winter vacation in hawaii i'll be looking for another part time job. probably bad timing, doing it AFTER the holiday rush, but with the economy now i'm not really sure there's a good timing!

i was a moogle for halloween. what were you?

bookbinding etsy street team storque article!

exactly what the title says.

hooray for best! :) very exciting for the team! and i'm personally excited about our upcoming team challenge... halloween is the bestest holiday evar!!!11!1! hahaha...

on a personal note, s-bucks hasn't quite worked out my schedule yet, but i just started interning at effinfunny, sandeep parikh and leah mann's production company. pretty awesome! :) i'll be working on my first shoot this weekend, woot!

no longer homeless and unemployed!

as the title says hehe! have moved into the new apartment, and now just finishing up getting furniture and arranging the rooms and whatnot :) also been working that hostess job at the sushi restaurant, but starting this week i'll be working tuesdays, thursdays and fridays instead of mon-fri, so that i'll have more time to possibly work production gigs. next week i'll be starting a job at starbucks working those mornings, hooray for health insurance! but the pay is very low, and i found out that unlike missouri, where i worked as a waitress for $2/hr + tips, restaurants here pay minimum wage ($8) + tips, so i'm probably going to need to look at getting a waitressing job in a couple/few months because that's much more than i had thought, hence the hostessing job! for now though, i'm doing well and will at least be making rent + utilities, huzzah!

i will probably look at getting into working on my etsy shop some time this week or next week! i need to run out to the paper source store in pasadena to pick up some pva to make books (although i do still have leather to make non-glue books!), but i've already made some jewelry since i got here. a friend of mine is a photographer, and was going to be taking headshots for my roomie and her bf, so he offered to take pics of me wearing my jewelry to use in my listings! here's a preview :D

things coming together...

today was a fruitful day:

1. went with friends to a photo/techie store out in burbank. there was a loooooong shelf full of gaff tape and paper tape and painter's tape and everything! i didn't spot any glow tape when i walked by, but the beautiful colors of gaff tape made me swoon ;)

2. mailed off my third custom scroll order this summer! considering i really haven't been updating my shop, i am happy that i'm getting these requests :) they've all been for weddings, so i figure that means they'll drop off now, but you never know!

3. i signed a lease with my roomie for an apartment in encino (which will forever give me a mental face-palm every time i think of it due to watching "encino man" before i came out here, but it's actually a nice area). rent is pretty decent, and it comes with a fridge and side-by-side parking, score! the rooms are equal enough that we're having a hard time deciding who gets what room, which is actually nice.

4. interviewed with a little sushi restaurant in encino that i happened across yesterday, and was hired as a hostess/cashier. will be making enough to pay for rent and such, hurray! work starts monday, have the night shift 5-10pm mon-fri. i did have a phone interview yesterday for a teller position with a local bank, which would be nice to get because it'd pay about the same as the hostess job but i'd only work 3 days a week (which would leave time for side production gigs) and since it's a bank i could possibly get benefits on top of that. i think i'm lucky either way!

5. and the coolest of the coolest: was added to the set crew volunteer list for "the guild", which starts production in september, i do believe! ecstatic!



all of this helps me sort of shrug off getting a parking ticket when i stopped by my bank for 5 min and had no idea that i was in a no parking zone. may try to see if i can contest it or something.. man, couldn't i have gotten my first ever ticket when i was doing something illegally on purpose? ;) alas, i know ignorance is no excuse, so i don't imagine i'll argue too much... besides, the rest of the day was just wonderful! :D

and tomorrow, i'm running out to santa monica to eat lunch with friends (was going to do it anyway, but now it's kind of a celebration hah!), and pick up my very own pair of climbing shoes! i'll be paying more for those shoes than i've ever paid before, but i'm considering them an investment for much needed exercise and good times. afterwards, i'll be off to los feliz to help out with the "team smithereen" show painting props!

now, back to watching the last couple "dead like me" episodes! i heart mason!

settling into l.a.!

drove from missouri to los angeles, and have been busy hunting for apartments and jobs. went out today to rock climb for the first time! had a lot of fun :) must return to the apartment hunt tomorrow though, and hope for work to come soon!

temporary

been a while, been a while.. my life seems to be all sorts of "temporary" right now, and i'm not sure if it's going to ever really become "permanent"... so! charging forward, and on to a summary!

haven't worked on too many new things in hawaii, but did come up with things like these silly bumblebee earrings:

i'll be hoping to make more earrings soon, especially with the new little charms i bought in japan, they're adorable and whimsical, in my opinion :D hmm.. maybe i'll just keep them for myself, muahaha!

and finally made a "real" leather book, using a longstitch binding tutorial online, for my dad's friend:


used the suede side up, because the familia liked it better, although i thought the other side looked neat, all spotted and stuff, so much character! but they decided it wasn't "girly" enough for my dad's friend :P at least i got to test out my stamp, as you can see! :D

got a hair cut yesterday, i think i'm gonna need to actually learn how to use a curling iron so that i might make myself a little more presentable for interviews and the like in l.a.! ...what a terrifying notion.

i'm considering mailing all of my stuff from hawaii to l.a. via parcel post, since i won't be needing anything for the one day that i'm in missouri and i'm fairly sure the extra space in my car would be fantastic, but that would probably cost a fortune... plus, i'll just be worried about my pretty supplies sinking into the ocean or something! like my new paper and fabric that i bought in japan!



well, i'll be flying out tuesday, and driving to l.a. over the course of a few days. and then i'll be absolutely engrossed in "breaking dawn" when i snag it at midnight on friday-saturday... although only for about 6 hours probably, that's how long it took for each of the other books. too short! i blame my sister for my will crumbling and new twilight addiction, i refused for so long, boo... haha. ahh well, no more harry potter right? ;)

employment!

so, an update on life!

i'm currently considering moving to l.a. to pursue theatre and maybe get into film/tv. i swore i hated socal and would avoid it like the plague, but after talking to a friend who's planning on moving out there, i figure i don't really have anything to lose, so why not at least try? at least this way i'll have a roomie (and actually possibly 3, her bf's going and a friend of his might too), and i have some friends out there who may be able to help me out a little.

i figure i can try this out for a year and see how i feel afterwards. as much as i'd like to go "full time" with my etsy shop, realistically speaking that's not going to happen anytime soon. i'm nowhere near committed enough, i figure i should be churning out something new at least more than my current average of what, once a month? :P i'd need to sell enough to get out of the red first, and i've still got a while to go yet! i've gotta have something to pay the rent for now, so i'm going to see how this works out :) i've never had to start from scratch before, so this'll be interesting!

new logo, promos, and pretties!

i recently updated my shop with a fabulous new logo, banner and avatar from the fabulous erin of designsquid and then i ordered some promos and such with it! my buttons are in the mail, but i've got my rubber stamp and stickers!



and here's a random sampling of things that i've ordered recently on etsy:

a super comfy custom dress from cherrypievintage that i ordered using alchemy. random picture with my wellies and the dress hehe.

i got a pretty mini mobile to hang above my laptop fromleahpellegrini, and ilusoria made me custom sock slippers!

i also ordered a custom pen from beetnik505! i love the little polka dots!


and an update on life: i will be moving away from missouri, staying with my parents in hawaii for a while until i can figure out what i want to do next! my shop will be closed while i'm in transit but hopefully i can still work on some things while i'm in hawaii, depending on what i can or can't cram into my suitcases and how expensive it'll be to ship my supplies over haha!

around the home

yep, that's my giant collection of handmade soap! it's sitting in the corner of "the dungeon", otherwise known as the boiler room/walk-in closet/laundry room/the space in between the bathroom and our room (the basement). ;) good stuff. i think i'm set for the year. just felt like sharing!


we completely flipped around the room last night, and now our desks are in a corner together! my shelves, work table, and desk are kind of taking over the corner while the poor boy is stuck over there with his desk hahaha. if you can't tell, i'm a bit of a slob. but an organized slob! really!


maybe? i think i just have too much crap XD

making a dress form!

i handed my boy a roll of duct tape and asked if he would help me make a ghetto dress form.

i tried to stuff it with old tshirts and socks afterwards, but it's a tad lumpy, so i may need to go get some polyfill or pillows or something.

i also need to get some new pins to use specifically for sticking into the goo-tastic tape :P

present from the boy

oh yes.

obsessed with clothing, oh noes

so a couple weeks ago, i may have purchased a funky little hood from pixiebell and awesome fingerless gloves from kitmit on etsy, as shown here:



oh yes. so much fun, and toasty warm ♥ love em!

i also decided to make some earrings for myself since i haven't actually made any to keep, and a sister pair to sell in my shop.



i like em! they tinkle when i move XD and i've been in a green kick, so hurray!

i'm also waiting for a pretty black and white circle skirt from tallgiraffe. i don't really wear skirts (i prefer dresses -- i is lazy) so this'll be fun!

AND! through alchemy (which i think i am going to abandon for the time being, due to the disorganization and craziness ensuing there at the moment) i have enlisted the aid of two fantastical seamstresses to make me a winter dress (by neurasthenia) and a rockabilly dress (by cherrypievintage). EXCITED.

naturally, i am now considering buying myself a sewing machine and experimenting at home! i've been dabbling and done a bit of work in school, so i'm kind of excited at the prospect :D i may also get a serger, because i'm not really sure how to finish edges without one! darn costume class, spoiling me rotten.

but never fear, i have not abandoned bookbinding! i have one book (black pages, whee!) in the works, and i plan on picking up supplies next week in st. louis and kansas city and teach myself how to do exposed bindings and such! hurray!

yes, my bank account hates me. damn you, crafting addiction!

slow slow times!

in the past couple months, i believe i've made a grand total of 2 books and 2 sets of earrings for my shop. that makes me sad. :(

so today, i went to michael's and got myself (with a gift card, woot... hooray for free!) a pretty little screw punch!



i'm hoping to use this to make exposed binding books and the like :) part of my experimentation for the year! i'd like to start with the secret belgian binding, following this tutorial. it doesn't look too awful difficult! :D

i'd also like a better awl and a larger self-healing mat, but those may need to wait for the moment. same for my jewelry tools, they're lookin a little shabby, so i think i need to upgrade my cutters at least. i've heard lindstrom is the best, but they're a tad pricey... not too bad, but i'll think about it for a bit! ;)

i are nerd

sort of finished my cloak! but my parents don't have a full length mirror, so i didn't really get to see what it looked like until i had my mom take pictures... which led to my decision about it not being quite finished yet, because the capelet is shorter than i had intended (it was long when i first sewed it together, but my mom suggested i chop it a little and i got a bit carried away) so i'm going to need to add some more felt onto it! i'll use this as an excuse to embellish it, because it's rather plain ;) sadly, i'm not completely happy with my hood (that's what i get for making everything up), so i may need to do it over... we'll see!


i'm leaving hawaii tonight... i'm actually pretty sad about it, which isn't normally the case! but it'll be good to go back to missouri. for example: this is what my "work space" looked like here:


okay, that may have been on a bad day, but still! it'll be nice to have say, a table to work on instead of the floor! ;)

alas, i had to mail back a bunch of my bookbinding supplies, and parcel post takes 3-5 weeks (AUGH) so it may be a while before i post up any new books! but that's okay, i have all of my jewelry stuff with me so i can play around with that for a bit, if job hunting goes well anyway!

new new year year

finally got around to playing with my hammer and baby anvil! made some new earrings, which i rather like :)

what did you all get for christmas from etsy? i got (myself) a pretty leather journal (that i actually plan on using!) from my handbound books, a super-cute clay book from lady artisan for best's first book swap, and my sister got me some mango lotion from spa therapy! ...actually, i also got some awesome dead sea mud soap too, but i used it already ;)


i finally sold my puffin book! it was possibly my favorite book.. i've made others that are better quality and probably cuter, but i've had a special attachment to my puffin book. i'm a little sad (as you can see in my goofy picture below), but for some reason it makes me feel like i'm moving forward. huzzah!


on a completely random not-craftsy note, it appears that we have a wild pua'a living nearby that likes to eat our front yard.


if you see one you're supposed to report it and the peoples will come out and kill it for you. i wonder if we can convince em to build a pit and make kalua pig if that happens.... heeeeere piggy piggy piggy...