new favorite site

Or at least my favorite for today.
http://moistcrochetedvagina.blogspot.com/
you are welcome, friendos.

Links for the day

I'm really appreciative of this amazing Peacock Jacket that craftster user jenfullmoon made for the latest craftster challenge. Both the time she put in (although she seems to mostly knit those time consuming, yarn consuming, amazing pieces that overwhelm my crafting attention span), and the thought she put into the project - super dope.

Also, I'm making these:
Pork Chops
and
a made up cream cheese ball recipe, kind of like this, minus the gross meat.

Speaking of gross, that pork chop recipe calls for canned condensed cream of mushroom soup. Both Campbells and Fred Meyer's cream of mushroom soup have soybean oil. (Although Freddy's ingredient list includes the more vague and paraphrased "may contain corn, soybean, or some other kind of oil" which is more ewwwrific). So my beef with soybean oil is that it's from soybeans. Let me explain. I love soybeans and soybean products, and I love soybean farmers. I do NOT love that soybeans and corn are two of the most likely crops to be genetically modified. I've seen numbers from 70-91% of soybeans planted in the US are GMOs. Freaky. Why is that a big deal? Well, the GMO soybean has negative effects on your fetus, negative effects on your liver, negative effects on the environment (both in spreading their genes to nearby farms and in increasing needs for more and more weed killers). Still, I didn't have time to make homemade cream of mushroom soup. So I bought the bad soup knowing I'm going to feed this crap to my fetus. I figure once in a blue moon, maybe, hopefully, it'll be okay.

By the way, I resubscribed to Craftypod on ITunes. It's a good way to show the love for an awesome crafter and craft supporter, boost the ratings a bit more. I've been occasionally going to her blog and listening in, and I realize I've missed several podcasts that way. Want to join me in subscribing? Just search "craftypod" on itunes, or check out the blog and listen from there.

10 uses for plastic bags

1. Fuse them into a thicker plastic, and make bags and other items out of them. Tons of folks have made some really neat things out of this material. Mostly bags, but I've seen raincoats, bibs and hats too. Top of the google link to etsy's tutorial: right here.

2. Cut them into yarn. This has been going on for ages, long before 2007 when this link was posted. Still, that's a great, easy visual tutorial for ya. Then, pretty much anything you can do with yarn, you can do with plastic bag yarn. (Some folks call it plarn, but that just makes my ears want to bleed a little).

3. Use 'em to pad your fragile gifts in the mail. This especially works with produce bags and the bags that newspapers are delivered in on wet days; gently blow the bag up like a makeshift balloon, tie the end, and put it in with your item. I don't think you need a link for this one really.

4. Use 'em for pet cleanup. As in poo. It cracks me up that people buy plastic bags specifically for this purpose. I don't think you need a link for this one either. If you do, you probably shouldn't have pets anyway. :D

Okay, so it's four uses. But it's four uses I've done in the past, they're four uses that are pretty easy, and uh... you should try them too.

Flashback Friday, I haz it.

So. This isn't a far flashback. This is last July. Hearkening back to a simpler time, before a break in the fabric of reality, you can see the joy in a young girl's eyes ... uh...

start over.

This was last July. Before Sophie moved to Georgia. After ChristL recently moved far far away from her home because she loves my youngest brother, and he loves her.

I like the picture. My cousin's kid looks intensely giddy and adorable. ChristL looks curious about something behind me and to my left. Mandee looks mildly disgusted, maybe because being a teenager sucks. And the beautiful girl on the right reminds me that I am secretly jealous of all long-haired hippies and regular folk with long hair.

Plus, it's a moment in time where things were kind of not crazy, which is nice.

Plus, it's sepia toned for the masses to love :D see prevous rant post

etsy wedding

When searching for "doily" on etsy, I found this gorgeous dress. The whole shop at ArmoursansAnguish is amazing. And look at this fascinator, by LoBoheme! Gorgeous. It's labeled as crochet, but (without my glasses on) it looks like it might include tatting. Here's a pleasantly chunky pearl necklace that would go great with most wedding dresses, even the less traditional ones :) I actually wore a necklace with pearls at our wedding. It was my Nana's, given to her by my Papa decades ago.

Hey, maybe, if you're good, I'll post how to make this veil and fascinator on Tuesday!

ETOH! Yeah, that means alcohol for all you rookies.

Happy How Tue-sday!

Yeah, it's back! We'll try to be a bit more consistent. However, that doesn't mean that we'll post our own tutes from scratch though! Like today, all you get is our link list born of love and hard searching of the interweb.

One of my first favorite "beers" was Hardcore Cider. That was before I had Strongbow Cider, and honestly I mostly just liked the name. However, I found a guy who knows how to make hard cider at home, and shares his experience. Check it here.

Then I found my true love in Stouts. Sometimes I have liasons with Porters. and I have a crush on Dopplebachs. and once in a blue moon, I crave the sweet touch of a Lambic.

Alright, now what are these styles? WTS is a Porter? Well, this guy has all the answers.

And if you want to make me a stout, follow the links here.

Here's a whole blog devoted to the art!

I read somewhere recently that you can get started for about $75, but I'm not sure how true that is. Like most crafts, I imagine, if you stick with it, it'll more than pay for itself.

Yo, dudes, a giveaway

ChristopherandTia, at it again. Mother's Day's coming up, the economy's in the shitter, why not try for a free candle! Or if you're one of the lucky employed, why not check out the shop that's offering up the free swag, and buy a thing or two. HOT!

Buy handmade!

Peace!

The Month of Love

Today is brought to you by a shirt that is more about love than the phrase it's mocking:



In Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, the quote is part of a whole movie of tragedy and inhumanity. 2LiveCrew removed it from context, turned it into something to sell everything from t-shirts to women to an attitude of sexism to soap, apparently. Check out Angry Asian Man's site.

Etsy Listing part TWO

Lookie what I listed: Sew What Needlebook

language

Frugalista, recession warrior. I think I like that term and that phrase.

January 17th: hearts and hearts and hearts

I want to have a Valentine's card and cookie making party. Sugar cookies, red crystal sugar, piped frosting, tiny glitter, cardstock, hole punches, ribbon scraps, letter stamps, octopus stamps, coffee, old friends, new friends...


Also, I made these last night:



I know it's not the glamorous Xmas present ever, but I'm wrapping 'em up and giving 'em to the fiance. He needs them, he will think that they're funny, and he understands it makes me happy to make things and that we're workin' on saving money. uh, other than the XBOX360 that we bought on the cheap off craigslist. The pattern and post about it is here. I think I mentioned it yesterday on HybridHopes.

I'm going out to breakfast with some lady friends from work. We're eating at Cup & Saucer, some of us for the first time. One of the girls lives across the pond in the 'Couv. I'm actually not sure who's all going, but I can't wait! I love breakfast. We'll be hitting up the Hawthorne for last minute gifts (seriously, I'm a crafter. Anything purchased in December for Christmas is "last minute.") Uh, what else. Today's my last day off, then I work three days, and then I'm back to my 7 off, 7 on.

Shoe Submarines?

These are perfect and completely one of those "Why didn't I think of that before?" kind of things. The fiance's totally getting a pair, my brother needs a pair because he has to stand ankle deep in the Delta's kitchen ooze whilst washing dishes, and, as a favor/gift to my fiance, I'll make a pair for me and my stinky shoes. Jennifer Worick, you are brilliant.

maybe the rings for us

ballandchain on etsy!

How To'sDay. A video tutorial from GentlemanBunny on Youtube

Thank you GentlemanBunny!

FanGirl: I love Pinetree Garden Seeds

It appears that Pinetree Garden Seeds is owned by a couple who 25 humans and one handsome canine working for them. The letter at the beginning of the catalog is hilarious. Apparently, the husband has "shifted his focus from day-to-day operations to a consulting capacity using electronic communications from home to spearhead our marketing strategies and advise me, Donna, his wife, with management decisions." So maybe you and I have different senses of humor, but that's hilarious. And I want Donna to write my next resume.

There are so many gorgeous flowers seeds in this catalog. The Unicorn Plant? It exists, and you can buy the seeds from Pinetree. Lots of pretty poppy seeds. Twenty three varieties of sunflower. Eighteen morning glories, in a variety of purples, reds, blacks, and whites. My beloved Hopi amaranth, although I could list that under vegetables or grain plants.

Craft kits and gift sets. Soap making kits, herbal bath gift sets, seed sprouting gift sets, paper making kits.

Random stuffs: animal shaped cookie cutters, pet stuff, gardenopoly game...

Unusual seeds. Like the aforementioned unicorn plant/devil's claw, a couple varieties of tobacco, henna, indigo, black hollyhock, armenian cucumbers, white borage.

Tomatoes from here until autumn.
They sell my beloved Tigerella seeds. They accurately describe them as tangy heavy yielders, but don't mention their tendency to split in late summer. Or maybe that's just me.
Climbing Triple Crop, Sungella, Gardener's Delight, Cosmonaut Volkov, Black Krim, Big Rainbow...
They've got a variety called the Mortgage Lifter. "The story is that a gentleman named Radiator Charlie bred this variety with crosses between German Johnson, Beefsteak, and other other varieties. He was able to earn enough selling the seed to pay off his mortgage during the Depression. They are very large, pink skinned, and very sweet tomatoes." Doesn't that make you hot?
What about the Peach Blow Sutton? This variety has been around since the early 1900's - it's mottled orange and yellow, and allegedly very disease resistant. What's sexier than a "very disease resistant" tomato?
Oh, I know. The Cuostralee, a french heirloom that is a BIG THREE POUNDER tomato, and is a deep sultry red. yowza!

Geez, I'm totally revealing my garden nerdery. I fuckin' LOOVE seed catalogs and fantasizing over gardens...

What I'm thinking about ordering (a brief, incomplete list):
Round Black Radish - gorgeous contrast between the inside and outside of the radish.
Penguin Gourd (AKA "calabash" gourd"), or maybe the birdhouse gourd
Parsnips - Hollow Crown. Because the name sounds like a euphemism. and I've never eaten/grown parsnips
More tomato seeds. I'd like a really sweet one, I think.
Maybe I'll order some irises. There's a lovely one called Orange Harvest that's unusual and beautiful.
Love-in-a-mist, really pretty flowers.
uh, this could go on for a very long time...

xoxo,
steph

I've been a bad poster.

I promised pictures and I'm in my pajamas and the camera is in the car.
That's pretty much the caliber of excuses I have over not posting pictures that I promised.

So instead, I'll post wedding related pictures. In case you're new here ;), our theme is something like roaring-twenties meets modern gothic garden party.

As always, clicking on the pictures will take you to the listing where you can buy the item if you're interested.

Lets start with the head. This is Topsyturvydesign's Prudence:



Note that Prudence is feather-free. Can I tell you how hard it is to find a fascinator or hat-of-a-certain-era on etsy that does not have feathers? I love feathers, I just don't want to buy something that has feathers that required possible slaughter. If someone described the humane way they got the feathers in the listing, I'd totally be interested. Even so, I have to admit some of the beautiful pieces have me tempted anyway. ! So I try not to look at them at all - I'd like a guilt free wedding, please.

That being said, this item from gothfox is gorgeous:



See what I mean? Here's another fine feathered topper from satanica:


Gorgeous!

Giveaway of stickers and cards!

I totally should not post this because it screws up my odds. However, it's the right thing to do. Plus, I get extra points for telling you about it.

ChristopherandTia are having a little giveaway. Ok, a double giveaway, from TWO etsy sellers.

One of 'em is Simplyembellish. That shop has nifty stickers. You can win some personalized Thanksgiving stickers, but these are my favorite:


Then there's fivedot. I think they must have fairies running their shop or something. I looked last night and there were slightly more than a handful of cards you could buy. Now there are two pages. Here's a cute one that wasn't there last night:


and while you're at it, stop by ChristopherantTia and hybridhopes, then come back here and tell me to put stuff in my shop :)

quickie: quite probably the best halloween embroidery ever.

by averagejanecrafter.

Spincycle Handspun Yarns

If you read my post yesterday, you know I've been fiending for a Crafty Wonderland trip. Unfortunately I have to work during the Super Colossal Crafty Wonderland sale, so I just have to dream, dream and drool ... I found these guys via Crafty Wonderland's vendor page also.

Spincycle Handspun Yarns has yarns named after Camille Rose Garcia's work. Things like The Saddest Place on Earth, a tragically gorgeous book. How can you possibly go wrong?

The Saddest Place on Earth



Don't you want to go there?

Shoes and how they relate to ohmydeerlove

I bought some ridiculously impractical shoes last week. I was hanging out with my friend Sarah, shopping for Halloween costumery, when I found some amazing shoes that I've totally convinced myself were inspired by the 1920s. I know, I refer to any shoes that are not sneakers as impractical, it's true. Maybe I'll post a picture for you later. Or maybe you'll have to wait til you see 'em IRL, maybe at the wedding...

So, the shoes actually came from Naked City on Hawthorne. And at Naked City on Hawthorne, they had tiny little beer can earrings. And today, I was browsing Crafty Wonderland's vendors for the Super Colossal Holiday Sale on December 14th and I clicked on ohmydeerlove's shop link. AND TINY LITTLE BEER CAN EARRINGS greeted me.



A few years ago I would've bought those immediately. Now, really, I don't think my patients would appreciate them much. Wouldn't be a bad gift for friends, family, your beloved bartender... There's also Schlitz and Budweiser versions.

So you don't want to use your earlobes to advertise? Yeah, me either, even if I do like beer.

Well, look at this:

A teeny little boombox. Hiphop and dance would not be the same today without the beloved boombox.