S. JANE CRAFT!

Christmas gifts

2012-01-02T11:23:00.002-08:00

The stupid thing about trying to take last minute photos of the Christmas gifts you made is that it's last minute and the photos aren't going to look so great. But then the good thing about moving back home is that most of the gifts you made are close by and you can get pictures of them another time.

I did, however get a couple good pictures of these cross stitch kits I made for our nieces. It was a really fun gift to put together and I think my favorite out of what I made for handmade gifts. (I also made coasters, spice mixes, marinated olives, bacon salt, tivets, etc..)

They were really excited about the pouches and the pattern (they love my little animal drawings) but the other stuff they seemed a little confused about until I explained it would be a fun project we could do together. Then they were all "OH A GIRL'S CRAFT DAY" and were excited again. Cuties!

Another gift I made was an animal portrait for my brother's girlfriend, Kate. I have to say, I really cracked myself (and her) up with this one.

So there you go, a little post about a few things I made. I think I might work on a 2011 wrap up post later today. So much happened this year that I feel like I should, but I don't know!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, PALS!

Crochet Season

2011-11-15T08:58:00.001-08:00

It's finally that time of year where the idea of touching yarn doesn't make me cringe. I just assume that anyone who can knit or crochet or touch yarn in the summer time has air conditioning, or a million fans, or like having fibers stick to you. Yuck! My new project, not that I needed a new one, is to make some kind of bath mat rug type thing. The blocks I'm making are from the Good Cause Afghan pattern from Crochet Today. Find it here!

I'm still settling into our apartment. So slowly. There are still boxes that need to be unpacked into things we don't own yet - shelves, desks, etc. I've been consistently distracted from said boxes by some business planning/starting/scheming with a couple of (click!) very rad ladies(click!), hugging Adam while he's trying to work, figuring out handmade Christmas gifts, Gossip Girl/Frasier/Family Ties all being on Netflix instant watch and Minecraft.

And just like that...

2011-10-14T11:14:00.001-07:00

I'm home! Not 100% yet, but now only gone 2 days a week. We finished principal photography on Anatomy of the Tide on Friday - a chilly day up on a cliff at Owl's Head State Park.

I'm really grateful to have had this experience. It was really like nothing I've done before and I feel like I learned so much. I got to make some new friends, really get to know Kate, see some beautiful Maine spots I'd never seen and had lots of fun and laughs.

It feels good to be able to finally settle into Adam and I's new apartment. I've started to slowly unpack and set things up. There are still boxes everywhere but I'm trying to not let it get to me too much and take some time to really think about where I want things to go.

I guess that's it for right now. Just a little Hello! I am home! Let's hang out! OH, also this is my 300th post! That's pretty bananas. I kind of can't believe I've even had that much to say over the past few years!

Anatomy of the Tide

2011-09-23T15:49:00.001-07:00

Wow, so, life huh?

When Adam and I returned to Maine the last thing I thought that I'd be doing a month after getting back would be working on a movie! My brother's girlfriend asked me to be her wardrobe assistant on Anatomy of the Tide, a feature film being made here in Maine. (check out the Facebook page for some great behind the scenes pics!) It has been such an amazing and unexpected experience so far. I've been meeting some awesome people and seeing some awesome places.

We've been filming mostly around Rockland but just spent this past week on Vinalhaven. Really, it has been the best kind of homecoming - to just be able to spend a month just being here. Between the movie and working a few days a week on Bailey Island I am crushing so hard on Maine right now. I'm remembering all the reasons why it's the perfect place for Adam and I.

I'm in love with so many things right now!

Trivet

2011-08-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Well! First of all, we've been back in Maine for a few weeks now and we are sooooooooo happy! We move into the great apartment we found next week, which, oddly enough, is next door to the last apartment we lived in in Portland.

Alright, moving along! We've been staying at my mom's house in Bath and if you've ever been here then you know about her craft room. (you can see a peek of it here) Since I really haven't had much time to craft the past few months, and all of my supplies are currently in storage, I'd kind of been itching to make something.

I decided on some paper piecing and after digging around some buckets of fabric my mom pointed me to a bin of scraps from my grandmother. The bin is filled with all kinds of crazy fabrics, I think mostly from the 60's and 70's that my gramma used to make herself little house dresses and aprons. I might have to scan some later because some of them are kinda crazy!

After I picked out a few of the less crazy patterns and the plaid, which was a pretty awesome pair of pants I had when I was much younger, I decided I wanted to make a trivet. I like making things, but I really really like making useful things!

I used 7/8 in hexagons and then top stitched them onto a thick piece of tan wool. The wool will add some extra protection from heat and adds a great sturdiness. I also started stitching diagonally along the top but the bobbin in my mom's machine ran out and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to replace it. And yes, I looked at the book already.

I see a lot more paper piecing happening this year!

Love, a very happy Sarah in Maine

Road trip USA

2011-08-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well, we're on the road! We left Wednesday morning and have been driving, driving, driving. I just wanted to share a couple quick pictures.

Arches National Park in Utah. So gorgeous!

Scenic overlook along I-70 in Colorado.

Man, you guys, I love going cross country. It's so cool to see the landscape change from desert to mountains to plains, etc. So far we've been through California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.

Right now we are in Nebraska and I'm not too excited about. It's so flat. Big skies and being able to see miles and miles ahead don't make me feel so great. The first thing I saw when we got into our hotel room was a pamphlet titled "Tornado Procedures", (ewwww) and then I turned on the tv to see a tornado warning for the county. (for those of you who don't know - tornadoes are one of my biggest, irrational fears, being that I'm rarely anywhere they are common). Nothing happened, clearly. But it was a scary couple of minutes in my brain.

Only a couple more days of driving and we are hoooommmmeeee!

Mint Lemonade

2011-07-25T11:51:00.001-07:00

On Saturday Adam and I had a "going away" BBQ. It was a beautiful sunny day filled with so many friends and food and drinks! I wanted to share a the recipe for the quick mint lemonade punch I made up. It's super easy and it was a big hit! Even with kids! (or well, with the super cute baby that was here. She loved it!) I made my own mint syrup and used bottled lemonade but you could do fresh squeezed if you have a juicer or want to juice a ton by hand!

I made the mint simple syrup the day before and refrigerated it overnight - here's the recipe:

Fresh Mint Simple Syrup

1 1/2 cups fresh mint leaves
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar (you can add 1 cup, but I wanted mine to be a little less sweet)

Chop up mint leaves. Add mint, water and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to simmer, without stirring, for 2 - 3 minutes. Pour syrup through a strainer or sieve into a container, (I used a mason jar) pressing on the mint leaves to get all the liquid. Discard mint leaves. Allow to cool and then cover and place in the fridge until use.

Mint Lemonade

1/2 recipe of fresh mint simple syrup
1 bottle (1.75 L) of Simply Lemonade
1/2 of a 1 L bottle of ginger ale
1/2 of a 1 L bottle of club soda
lemon wedges and mint sprigs for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a punch bowl and mix. Adjust to taste. Garnish with lemon wedges and sprigs of fresh mint.

I've never tried to write a recipe before so I hope that is OK. Like I said, super simple and summery and I recommend trying it out at your next party. I'd love to hear if you do!

10 days!

2011-07-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Our move back east is coming up so fast. Like, in 10 days fast. I feel like I've been answering a lot of questions lately about what I'm excited to get back to in Maine so I thought I'd do a quick little post on a couple things.

1. Apple Box, 2. When Fireflies Attack - Project 50/50 (Week 25), 3. Acadia, 4. Portland Maine: Exchange Street Brick

1. Apple picking! When we first moved to Eugene I was kind of shocked that there weren't really any places in Lane County to go apple picking. You can pick just about anything else - but no apples! It's always such a great way to spend a crisp fall day...and then the week or so afterwards trying to figure out what to do with all those apples.

2. Fireflies - Adam and I had just assumed that these existed everywhere, and when we found out that we would be having firefly-less summers we were kind of bummed out. Oregon has such beautiful open spaces that it's really a shame that they don't sparkle on summer nights.

3. Islands - As much as I'll miss the gorgeous glittering blue-green of the Pacific, the vast open-ness of it has always kind of overwhelmed me. I can't wait to see little islands dotting the coast and the deep blue Atlantic. I especially can't wait to get back to my #1 super fave - Bailey Island

4. BRICK! This one might sound kind of funny but everything in Eugene feels so new. All plaster and stucco and siding. I know that there are new brick buildings but it always just feels so historic to me. I can't wait to be surrounded by big old brick buildings again. Also I can't wait to be tripping down cobblestone streets. JK, I can wait on that one!

(And FYI I'm not really looking forward to humidity and driving in the snow.)

2011-07-09T15:54:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot to say today. We're heading to the coast tomorrow for a week long stay - my dad rented a house in Lincoln City to celebrate his 70th birthday. We haven't really had a chance to spend a whole lot of time at the coast so it we're happy we'll be able to before we head back east. (sooooo sooooon!)

We spent some time at our friend Tim's house last night. He lives in the hills and has a beautiful house and a bunch of land. It was nice to see so many stars and be in the woods a little bit.

We're slowly starting to pack up stuff around the house. Boy do I hate moving and packing. The plus side is that since this is a big, cross country move, it's forcing us to get rid of stuff and MAN, that feels so good!

Tomato pincushion

2011-06-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

I came across a cute tutorial recently on the Martha Stewart crafts site for tomato pincushions. I decided to try it out last night with that cute fat quarter I got yesterday.

It was super easy and came out cute but I think it looks a little more pumpkin than tomato!

Pillow

2011-06-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

A peek of a simple pillow made as a gift.

I might have to go get more of the Cloud9 fabric in the middle. It makes me want to be at the beach, combing for shells and sea glass.

I made a quick trip to Joann's today to get a backing fabric for the pillow and found this pretty little fat quarter caught my eye:

It's pretty crappy quality but I'll find some pretty little thing to make with it!

So that's all. It's cloudy and damp and dark here today and any time not spent being productive has been spent trying to fight off the sleepies.

Bear Waldorf

2011-06-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

Are you sick of these bears and my adorable sense of humor yet? I didn't think so!

You know how people often say things are "guilty pleasures"? I'm not quite sure I believe in those. What is even the point of calling something that when you like it? Well guess what, guys. I straight up LOVE Gossip Girl. Love. It.

I've had a Blair Waldorf bear in my head for a long time now. Especially since I found this blog dedicated to her outfits on the show. Her style just seems so perfect to draw on my little bears. Well, that and she's my super mega favorite character.

Stefano DiBeara

2011-06-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

When I was little I often spent half of the summer at a daycare/summer program and half going to my grandmother's house while my mom was at work. Every day that I was there with her we would watch Days of Our Lives. (she would often remind me that all the other soaps were "rubbish" and not to watch them) I loved watching it with her and I still make a point to this day to watch it when I can.

For whatever reason I always kind of liked Stefano DiMera, one of the main bad guys on the show. I think I always loved the crazy evil schemes he would come up and how he just never. seemed. to. die. Pretty entertaining as a kid, and, I have to say, as an adult too.

I'm sure that if my grama were still around today she would have much rather preferred a drawing of Alice Horton or Bo Brady but it's just not easy to put the word bear in their names!

Beary Potter

2011-06-19T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last fall I decided that since the Harry Potter movies were soon coming to an end I wanted to finally read the books. (kind of backwards, I know) I'm about 3/4 of the way through Half Blood Prince right now with a goal to finish it and Deathly Hallows up before I part 2 of the movie comes out in theaters. FYI - I'm a sloooooowwww ass reader.

This evening I have been playing around on a Wacom tablet. I used to use one pretty regularly and was secretly hoping for some kind of "like riding a bike" thing to happen...but not so much. I got a couple of wiggly drawings out of it though. This one I have been thinking about since I started reading the books.

Har har, I'm so funny!

You guys. Why didn't anyone tell me how great these books are?! They feed so perfectly into the part of me that wishes the world was more magical (same reason I love video games) and my imagination. I'm such a late blooming Harry Potter nerd but I think that's totally OK. At least you guys don't have to listen to my recaps that I give Adam after reading. He's a good sport. A real good sport.

Sloth!

2011-06-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hi pals! Today my friend Casie came over and we swapped belated birthday gifts. She had mentioned a few times how much she liked the finger puppets I used to make so I thought I would make her one. She is also quite a fan of sloths - so voila!

I think I'm most proud of figuring out how to make the little claws. They're pretty cute!

She really liked it, and I'm so glad! And my gift from her, OH MAN. I love it so much! Casie knows how much I love polar bears. (It's a real super big giant lot) She posted a picture of my gift on her blog last night and before I even saw my name I was realllyyyy hoping it was for me! It's a double sided polar bear pillow. BEST!

I feel like I haven't been doing much handmade stuff lately so it felt good to work on Casie's gift. My brain has mostly been on future projects of my own and something I'm working on with Adam. And of course I've been thinking a lot about our big move back east in August. It's sneaking up on us so fast!

Anniversary!

2011-05-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

I maybe should have posted about this earlier in the week but well, this week kinda flew by!

This past Sunday was Adam and I's first wedding anniversary! It certainly hasn't felt like a year since the wedding - BANANAS! We took an overnight trip down to northern California to see some redwoods and lots of coast and mountains. It was a perfect little getaway.

I think one of the highlights of the trip was probably me rapping some Nicki Minaj to Adam but he might feel differently.

Other highlights included:
- Seeing a bear hanging out across the river from the inn we stayed at.
- All of the innkeepers thinking that we were a couple that had been there a few days earlier. All but one of them said something to us like.."Hey! You guys are back!" Nope, not back but apparently we looked exactly like both of them. Weird, huh?
- Maybe the best cheeseburger Adam or I have ever had - from a dark, dirty bar in Klamath. I think the innkeeper that recommended it to us was excited to have younger guests that she could suggest such a place to.
- Adam's entry in the guest journal in our room:

May 15, 1908
Day 21 of our expedition, and a dark one at that. We experienced a hippo attack on the river today. We killed the dastardly savage, but not before losing the raft. Thankfully, the crew is all safe, but the loss of supplies will be a most unwelcome burden in the future.
N'kumba says we're still ten days from the point. Col. Potter says the previous expedition was lost. Hopefully we can scavenge what we need from the wreckage.
Jane asked if my fantasy of finding the lost city was worth my life. I scoffed at the time....Lord, I pray this all wasn't a mistake.

Yup! One whole year! I told Adam while we were driving home last weekend that the first year of marriage is supposed to be the hardest. We both laughed. I'm sure that we will have some hard years but this was not one of them. In fact, I feel that I can safely say this has been the best year we've ever had.

Discount!

2011-05-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

I really love bears and draw little ones pretty often. This week is Bear Awareness Week so I thought this would be a good opportunity to try out a coupon code. So here it is!

Get 20% off your order this week (May 16th - 22nd) when you use the code ILOVEBEARS at checkout.

Just click the image above or follow the link on the left to my shop!

Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Cupcakes!

2011-05-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

My BFF, Bobbi, asked me to make an image for one of her blogs. She does reviews of cupcakes and some other foods in Portland, Maine and is on the hunt for the best!

Check out her blog at Portland Cupcakes!

Easter egg

2011-04-26T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! I know I haven't been posting much lately. Mostly because I haven't really been making much lately! I did decorate this cute egg this weekend though.

I haven't been doing nothing, however. I've been doing some custom orders or design work. Helping out some friends (I got to do a little printing on a letterpress!) and just hanging out with others.

Mostly I've been researching and brainstorming. I think I might have actually found a career that I could see myself doing - that would combine all of the different things I like to do.

And I'm really excited.

Paper Earrings

2011-04-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

I've been really wanting some new earrings lately but I haven't been wanting to actually buy some new earrings lately. I've made myself a fair amount of pairs in the past so yesterday, after carving a stamp I made some.

I made them with some heavy card stock, origami paper, envelopes and sealed them up a bunch to make them sturdier. The only thing I don't like is that I had to use some crappy earring hooks because I only had one nice pair. I took the big silver ball off that is usually on those cheaper ones, since I think it just looks kinda awful.

It's really nice out again today. I have the back door open to the screen and I can hear the neighbor busily doing stuff on the other side of the fence. I hope he starts singing at some point! That's always my favorite.

And hey, here's a good song for a springy day by the super cute Sondre Lerche:

custom stamp

2011-03-31T19:49:00.001-07:00

I carved this custom stamp today:

It kind of reminds me of Paula Small's haircut in the Psycho Delicate episode of Home Movies. I think the crooked mouth definitely helps!

It was so nice out today. I almost felt bad telling my mom that it was in the upper 60's when she is on the east coast and about to deal with a good old Nor'Easter!

Here's a bear

2011-03-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

Nala Photography logo

2011-03-15T14:47:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to quickly share a logo I did a few weeks ago for Alana of Nashville based Nala Photography.

I really loved Alana's idea for a hot air balloon and it was fun to draw a bunch of them. I'm not sure if I ever had before!

Visit the Nala Photography site and see some of Alana's gorgeous photos!

Doily #2

2011-03-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

I started another doily last week. My mom kept mentioning that I should try out pattern with pineapples..so I did! The pattern I'm using is called Peacocks and Pineapples and according to the pattern it's supposed to be 31 inches in diameter. We'll see! Somebody (me) might not be so great about checking gauge!

I've got about 12 or 13 rounds done and so far it's going pretty smoothly. I'm having grand illusions of making giant ones as rugs with some bulky yarn, but we'll see! I'm really liking the thread I'm using right now though. It's Baroque Crochet Cotton by DMC, if anyone is curious.

Wish me luck, guys!

Macarons!

2011-03-07T19:12:00.000-08:00

I love when my friend Morgan comes over. So much. We always end up doing a project and it's almost always something that I've never made before. We had been chatting a bunch about wanting to try making french macarons, so we did! Today!

And man, that is one fickle cookie! I'm just going to pretend that they all turned out perfectly and look just as good as the ones below came out. You can pretend that too, and we will all be happy!

We made two flavors - strawberry and maple. The strawberry ones came out not so hot, but still tasty. The maple ones came out half great and half kinda not so great. We topped some with chopped pecans and some with just a tiny bit of maple pepper and filled them with a simple vanilla buttercream.

The good news (besides them being delicious!) is that we aren't feeling too discouraged and want to keep trying and making them better! We both have waaaay too many flavor combinations we want to try to stop now!

OK, well, I'm going to go slip into a sugar coma until Adam comes home.

Doily

2011-03-05T15:56:00.001-08:00

Hi blog!

I made my first actual doily! And by actual I mean made with crochet thread and a tiny size 5 crochet hook. I can't wait to try out some bigger, more complicated patterns. This one was pretty quick and I'm very pleased with how it came out.

My new plan is to have doilies everywhere! Adam and I's place doesn't look enough like old ladies live here.

Animals Need Things

2011-02-21T13:29:00.000-08:00

I found these drawings today while cleaning a pile of stuff off my scanner. I'd been meaning to scan them forever.

I don't know, I just like to imagine that sometimes animals have needs like people need things.

I remember these drawn from loving (bossy!) suggestions from my pal, Casie. "DRAW A FOX. DRAW ME A SQUIRREL."

Carmen quilt top

2011-02-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

What! That was fast!

I put together the Carmen quilt top today.

I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm kind of surprised how nicely it came out! This was my first time doing half square triangles and I was a little nervous. The whole 7/8 inch thing was kind of freaking me out while I was cutting the blocks yesterday. (Real talk: cutting the blocks kind of freaks me out in general!) Now I need to decide what color to use for the backing and how I want to quilt the top.

So, I'm feeling really proud of myself right now. I feel like I have a hard time following through on larger projects and just getting started has given me so much motivation! I plan to do a post soon about what these quilts/designs are about. But I think I'm going to hold off for a little while until I have at least one of them completely done. Of course, some of you already know!

Starting the Carmen quilt!

2011-02-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

I just cut squares for this!

The skin tone is actually going to be much, much lighter. I was excited to start sewing but I only have white thread and Adam has the car today. So looks like tomorrow morning there will be a thread buying trip!

I know I keep saying it, but I'm super excited to get this project started. This isn't actually the quilt I was planning to start with, but I still need to work out/order some of the fabrics for the others.

This song randomly popped into my head the other day and I can't get it out! I'm glad though, because I really love it!

More crochet, per usual.

2011-02-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

I finally got to trying out the Berroco Pure Pima cotton yarn I ordered during the fall. Annnnd, oh man, it's kind of dreamy!

I think I'll make more shapes and then stitch them into a little table runner or something else pretty for around the house.

It grows!

2011-02-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

Last month back I picked back up on the granny square afghan I started for Adam and I. With the exception of maybe one row I worked on in like..September, it hadn't really been touched in almost a year!

It's much bigger now, but still not big enough. I'm going to have to get more yarn soon and keep going and going... I want it to at least cover the top of our bed, which even though it kind of looks like it below, it doesn't.

It nice to have an ongoing project like this that I can work on when Adam and I do things like watch a million episodes of Doctor Who, or whatever. Also nice: I can keep cozy under it while working!

Hand carved stamp tutorial

2011-02-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Last week I asked on the S. Jane Facebook page if anyone would be interested in a tutorial on how to carve stamps. A bunch of people said yes, so today while I was finishing up a custom stamp, and the sun was shining I decided to make a video.

I've never done any kind of tutorial before and certainly not a video one, so any feedback would be great! It's a little long, but I wanted to be thorough...ok, here goes! I hope at least one person learns something, ha!

Whoa, talk about nerve wracking! It took less time than I thought but I'm not really a fan of being on camera so it's a good thing the video is mostly my hands! However, after listening to it, I'm pretty sure I could have also called this video "Lisp party 2k11".

East coast dreamin'

2011-01-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

Adam and I are planning on heading back to the east coast later this year and I can't stop thinking about it. I'll be sad to leave what we have here but excited to get back to the familiar places and faces that we love so. It was a grey, dreary day here today, after lots of unexpected sunlight, so my brain was especially focused on all those special places.

1. Scarborough Marsh, 2. Untitled, 3. Lower Falls, Kangamangus Highway, NH., 4. Summer Skyline, 5. cribstone, 6. Sebago Lake - 7 March 2010, 7. Congress Street, 8. www.flickr.com/photos/nhoulihan/4517301435/, 9. Last light at Reid State Park

Now, don't you all want to move to Maine with us? I thought so!

Custom stamps

2011-01-26T21:56:00.000-08:00

I did a couple custom stamps the other day. I was just asked to add some details to two of my regular designs and they came out so cute!

I forgot how much I liked carving stamps so I'm glad that I've gotten some orders lately. Maybe I'll design some new ones?

Also, unrelated to stamps but so excited to finally get some other projects I've been thinking about actually started! These are going to be real soon!

Picnic Blanket

2011-01-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

When I was little I had a blanket that I loved. I don't know where it came from, or who made it but I remember I really loved it. I don't really remember napping with it or cuddling with it or anything like that. It had a purpose that was almost always for me to sit or play on. I remember dumping Legos out on it, playing with Barbies and most importantly taking to the park to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July.

I asked my mom months ago if she still had the blanket and was so happy when she said yes. She sent it to me along with some fabric and some squares she had cut and kept to make me a quilt someday. When I saw my old blanket I was surprised to see how ragged it looked with lots of tears and worn down spots. I decided almost immediately that I would use the squares my mom sent me to make a new one.

Old (and loved!) blanket on the back of the chair, new one in progress on the table!

Well, I finished the new one last night and I'm pretty happy with it. It was super simple, just a bunch of squares sewn together for the front, a single piece for the back and some cotton ties.

And guess what I plan to do with it when it's not totally soggy out all the time anymore? (So I have to wait a few months...) Take it for picnics and adventures! Make fun memories with my new little blanket. It's so simple but it makes me so happy!

Lookout Point Lake

2011-01-17T11:23:00.000-08:00

Adam and I went for a little drive yesterday. I have been feeling kind of cooped up and needed to get out a little bit. I mostly don't mind winter here, it's dark and rainy, but it's still very green and there are still some flowers around. We decided to drive east along Rt. 58 to Dexter and check out the covered bridge that is there. Guess what, it's a covered bridge and I don't really have much else to say about it. Ha!

It was wet but (almost 60 degrees, WHAT?) we stood outside for a bit and looked out at the reservoir. It was all misty and pretty.

Before we left the house I had peeked at Google Maps quickly to find some roads to check out. One of the weird things out here is that you can't just go out for a drive and always expect there will be multiple routes to get home. Especially if you are heading east because at some point you are probably going to hit a pass and be in the mountains.

I found a road that looked like it just ran along the shore of Lookout Point Lake, which is what we would have been driving along if we had stayed on 58, just the opposite side. I couldn't really see any point where it would be easy to cross back over to 58, but we decided to try it out anyway.

It was so pretty, despite the rain and clouds and wasn't really what I expected. I thought it was going to be a lower road that just went along the shore but we were pretty high above in the trees. The road twisted and turned I kept trying to peek through little clear spots down to the lake and I kept noticing that all along the shore were tree stumps. We eventually stopped at a boat launch area and got out. We walked a ways down long boat ramp and just looked around for a bit. Tree stumps everywhere!

Maybe it was the mist and fog and rain, but for whatever reason, this was such a bizarre site to me. We couldn't see an end to them in either direction and it kind of creeped me out!

We got back in the car and we were going to continue down the road but there were signs that said the pavement ended. We continued down a little further but it turned to gravel and since we didn't know at what point it would, if at all, turn back to pavement, we decided to turn around. When we got home later I looked at a map and it turned out we barely even made it halfway down the road! It wasn't too far a drive away from Eugene, so I think we are probably going to try and go back on a day when it's not so wet.

When we got home Adam made giant burgers for lunch. Giant burger + having taken Bonine so I wouldn't get carsick = Me passing the eff out for an hour or so after lunch. It was kind of an accidental nap situation.

But anyway! We will be back for you, N. or W. Boundry Road! (I think the map and the actual road said two different things)

Vlisco dutch wax

2011-01-07T13:07:00.002-08:00

I found these beauties while searching for wax print fabrics today. They are dutch wax prints from Vlisco.

There are so many more at their site but these were a few of my favorites.

And how gorgeous is this dress in one of the color ways of the first pattern above. I love how large the print is!

Painted fabric

2011-01-05T14:10:00.001-08:00

For a while now I've been wanting to try and print some of my own fabrics. I never actually tried it because , for whatever reason, I had always thought about it as printing at least a yard of fabric. That's pretty silly. I decided the other day that I would just try and do some small pieces for some small sewing projects.

I did these today on some small linen blend pieces I had. They are painted with acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium. I think I'll try washing them tomorrow and see how they hold up, but what I had in mind for them isn't something that would probably be washed anyway.

I'm slowly working through a giant mountain of laundry that I have been meaning to do for weeks now. It's one of those chores that I'm trying really hard to be better about. I didn't really make resolutions this year but I do want to make a conscious effort to get into better habits. I have such an awesome feeling about this year and I'm not sure why. It's going to be great, I know it!

2011!

2011-01-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everybody!

We had a really great New Year's Eve last night with friends. We got dressed up and had dinner at a small restaurant downtown called Belly. Our friends had been raving about it for a while, but Adam and I had never been. Needless to say, by no means were they overselling it. It was one of the best meals either of us have ever had. (and by meals I mean we ordered a million things and all shared)

After dinner we went over to our friend's house and played a really cool card game called Dixit. It's sort of like Apples to Apples, but you tell stories about images on your cards. It was super fun and the illustrations on the cards is really nice. Also at their house: lots of snuggling their dog, Daphne and champagne, Kim let me borrow a season of Doug (I'm reaaalllyyy excited!).

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful year! I feel like it's going to be an exciting one with lots of changes and new adventures ahead.

Handmade gifts

2010-12-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

I did a bunch of handmade gifts for Christmas this year. It just feels so nice to give someone something that you made.

The first gift I started (and finished) and the most complicated was a table runner for my mother-in-law, Bobbie. It wasn't too bad to make because I was already very familiar with the motifs. (I made many of them for wedding decorations.) I am really happy with how it came out and Adam's mom loved it!

For my mom I made her a crocheted cowl and this craaaazy doily. I wanted to try out some of the yarn that my friend Morgan and I had dyed earlier this year and found a doily pattern that used sock yarn. I had no idea what the yarn was going to look like crocheted and it was crazy and SO BRIGHT.

The pattern worked up really nicely, I think I'll definitely make some less crazy ones someday.

For my bro, Johnny, I found a cross stitch pattern of a typewriter and stitched it up. The pattern is by Tiny Modernist on Etsy.

I attached a piece of felt to the back and embroidered on it. Johnny has called me "squirt" since before I can even remember and still does today!

I made a few other things that I totally forgot to take pictures of - A Zippered Dopp Kit from a tutorial on the Purl Bee site for Adam's sister. It was my first time making anything like that and I'm very very glad that I made a practice one first! For Adam's bro, Paul, I made a handkerchief. And for our nieces, a couple super simple little clutches to hold some little xmas stocking type items.

All in all I'm really happy with what I made/gave for gifts. I definitely want to do it again next year but I'm going to make sure I start planning sooner.

Husband Birthday!

2010-12-13T11:00:00.001-08:00

It's Adam's birthday today and even though he's not someone who gets excited about their birthday, I STILL AM. As much as I'd love to share some kind of silly picture of him, (in his honor, of course) I won't!

However, I will share with you a picture of our little Christmas tree.

We put it up last weekend and listened to Christmas music. I've never been that big on xmas music but I'm seriously missing snow and real winter this year and I needed something that reminded me that it is in fact that time of year.

I am almost done with all of my handmade gifts! I have one thing to finish and send out and one thing to finish for a handmade gift swap my friends and I are having. I can't wait to share some pics!

Well, I better get cracking on this busy Monday I have ahead of me. I need to make some birthday lasagna and a cake as well as do some work. L8RZ.

Teeny art

2010-12-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

I spent some time today trying to teach myself how to do some teeny tiny pixel art. I honestly thought I was going to really really hate it...but I don't!

I can't believe how tiny these little guys are! I'm practicing for a project and I think I'm doing alright for a first try. I did some other, slightly bigger animals too but I'll share them another time.

I want her scarf!

2010-12-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Adam and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last weekend and since then I have been thinking about Delores Umbridge's scarf that she is wearing in the Ministry of Magic.

It's a cat! Duh, of course she is wearing a cat scarf. I love it so much and now I want to know how to knit well enough to make one for myself.

Do you guys think it would be hard? I guess I could crochet one with some fine yarn since I already know how to do that. Anyway, I just needed to tell you guys all about it.

A handmade wedding - some decor

2010-11-23T21:56:00.004-08:00

As a lot of you know, Adam and I got married six months ago. We received a disc of the wedding photos from our lovely photographer, Erin, on Friday. Since then I have been anxious to make a post about the handmade elements of our wedding and a few tips for those of you doing the same. So! Let's do this!

Like I already mentioned, all photos were taken by Erin of a love supreme. If you need photos for your special day, engagement, portraits, whatever - I super mega totally recommend her! I'm lucky to be currently working with her on a project and she is just the greatest! She is based in Maine but is looking to travel.

The first thing I have to say about having a lot of handmade things in your wedding is: enlist as much help as possible. It's really easy to think that you can do it all yourself, but trust me, you probably can't without losing your mind. Plus your friends and family will most likely be excited that you've asked them to help with such a special day.

The little birds in the glasses were all sewn by me using this pattern from Spool. I designed the fabric and had it printed on a cotton/linen blend through Spoonflower . The patterns matched the patterns used on our save the dates and invites. The birds were wedding favors and had little tags around their necks to let people know where to sit.

The napkins, oooh the napkins! My mom sewed all of them! After months of sending me swatches of fabrics she was collecting I picked three that I really liked and she got to work. I'm not sure how many she ended up making, but I think she is going to make Adam and I a quilt with them.

We spent months collecting pieces of milk glass and other glass pieces in the wedding colors for the tables. Big discovery - milk glass vases cost about $2-$3 less at Goodwill/Salvation Army per vase here in Eugene than they did in Maine. Weird, huh?

The lanterns were purchased from Luna Bazaar. Some of the colors were kind of off from what they were supposed to be, but in the end, it really didn't matter at all. My brothers hung all of them and they did such an amazing and creative job. I think I suggested how they hang one set of them and the rest was all them and perfect! Thing I have to say #2: you don't need to be in control of everything. Trust your helpers and remember, if something doesn't get done - your guests totally aren't going to notice unless you tell them!

Remember all those crochet pieces I was making in the spring? I crocheted about 100 pieces in different shapes and sizes. That is, and isn't a lot of pieces. This brings me to the third thing I have to say: be flexible with your design ideas. You'll more than likely have to change or completely throw out some of your ideas. And I promise you, it won't ruin your day! My initial idea for the crochet pieces was completely different than what we used them for but in the end, I think they looked great and some people even took some home with them.

These garlands were my mom's idea and what a great one! She sneakily started collecting paint swatches in the wedding colors, which is really not hard for her. The woman L-O-V-E-S paint chips. We sat my dad down with a glass of wine and some paper punches and set him to work punching out shapes. Then my mom, dad and brothers took turns sewing the pieces together and creating the garlands.

My brothers also made these tissue paper garlands. (I can't remember the site we got the pattern from right now!) They hung them from the trees outside of the hall where we had the reception. They looked so pretty! They also made flowers for the tables and my friend and bridesmaid DeAnne and I made some fabric ones.

The last thing I am going to share in this post is the drink stirrers that we enlisted my dad to put together. I don't think he hated this project, but I'm also not sure he loved it. We made them from crepe streamers, bamboo skewers and floral tape. Oh, and we also made the delicious sangria!

I'm going to do another post after the holiday about a few more wedding things. I hope that for those of you planning your own wedding my little suggestions are helpful. I know it can be stressful! And if anyone needs any ideas, I still have SO many!

Oh, and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Sorry blog!

2010-11-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

Totally neglecting this blog lately. I've been busily working on crochet projects, design stuff and playing Fable 3. I've also been working on a list of handmade Christmas gift ideas for family members. I think I've come up with some good ones so far and I'm excited to get them started. We did some handmade gifts last year and it was so much fun to how the recipients liked them.

I've spent waaaaay too much time on Ravelry lately looking at pages and pages and pages of patterns. I found this one by Pierrot Yarns, a japanese company and I think I might try it out soon.

Is that not one of the cutest bags you've ever seen?! The pattern is a little confusing because it's a bunch of charts but I don't think it will be too bad. It's made mostly of only two different stitches. It's also crocheted with two strands so I think it will be nice and sturdy.

It's so grey and yuck out today. Winter rainy days are creeping up here and I don't want them! I love how green everything gets but I'm actually starting to miss snow like crazy. I even miss Nor'easters!

Crochet Cowl

2010-11-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

I made this cowl this weekend. I really hate wearing scarves in the winter but wanted something to keep warm. It was a super quick project and I'm really happy with how it came out. I made mine a few rows shorter than the pattern did but I could easily add more if I decided too. The pattern was from the Lion Brand site and you can find it here - Cardiff Cowl. (The pattern is free but registration is required)

Of course, because I just finished it, it's almost 70 out today! What!

Ma!

2010-10-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

It's my Mom's birthday today. It's days like today when I really hate living 3,000 miles away!

Happy Birhday, Ma! I love you oh so much and miss you tons. Thank you for all the wonderful crafty things you've taught me over the years...and all the hugs, and cookies, and fun <3 <3 <3

p.s. How cute was she when she was little:

Willapa Bay

2010-10-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

I love Google Maps satellite view. So, so much.

Fall Bear

2010-10-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

I made this bear last week for a swap. She came out so cute that I almost didn't want to send her! Maybe I will make some more soon.

One of my best friends from Maine came to visit the west coast for a week. She spent a few days in PDX with another friend and then a few days here in Eugene. It was so fun having her around and I miss her lots already.

Simple Blanket

2010-10-12T10:27:00.001-07:00

Last Friday I got a couple boxes from my mom. One had a bunch of bulbs to plant and one of my favorite blankets from when I was little. The other one had a plastic box with cut fabric triangles and then a bunch of cut 4.5 in squares. Both of which where for quilts she wanted to make for me at some point.

I felt like sewing this weekend so I picked out the squares I liked the best and just started sewing strips.

My plan is to make this in the style of the blanket she sent me. It's basically a front piece like in the picture above and a back solid piece sewn right sides together, flipped and then tacked. Super simple and light weight, no quilting or batting.

In other news I have DJ school today with my bro-in-law, Paul. He wants to teach me how to DJ and really all I'm hoping for is that it doesn't go horribly! I need to pick out some fun jams! Who wants an Edyie Gorme remix? Nobody? Just me? Ok.

Buddy Monday - Casie Brabham

2010-10-11T13:04:00.001-07:00

I am proud to return to Buddy Monday with one of my bestest buddies! Casie and I met a few years ago when she contacted me to do some design work for one of her shops, Bebe Babies. Soon after that she asked me to join her and another friend in starting up a PDX Craft Mafia chapter, which ended up in an eventual fail but that's ok because we became really good pals. She is super fun, a really hard worker and awesomely creative and talented. I am in awe of her ability to come up with all kinds of great new ideas for plush and then just make them a reality. I always love getting to see what she's up to at her tiny house, hanging out and trying to get her dog to pretend bite me! So fun!

And so, without further ado, the return of Buddy Monday with Casie "Super Cool" Brabham!

1. Tell us about yourself?

I am amazing. The end. Ok......I am 28 and I make plush dolls and toys. I have been making dolls for around 10 years and have been making exclusively plush dolls/toys for about 6. I am definitely a fabric addict and I collect it with an obsessive urgency. I am the same way with toys. I can’t have enough of either and I have no space in my house to prove it! Other than sewing I am in school studying to be a middle school teacher. I went back to school last year after working too long at an insurance company. I love school but it has seriously cut into my sewing and gelato time. Let’s see what else...I have a dog who is cute and funny and just all around the best doggy ever. If I keep going I will have to tell you how I like long walks on the beach and a glass of wine by the fire while looking longingly into your eyes....

2. What do you make?

I have two shops on etsy. One is called BeBe Babies and Friends and the other I just opened is called Boom!Plush! BeBe Babies are soft baby dolls for children and adult collectors. I opened Boom!Plush! because I have been participating in more and more online plush challenges and I needed a place to sell the creations that really didn’t fit into the BeBe Baby theme. I am hoping to really work on Boom!Plush! and create more interesting, intricate pieces. My current favorite things to make are plush inanimate objects. Right now I am working to finish a plush turntable monster and a boom box.

3. How did you come up with your shop/business/blog name?

BeBe Babies got their name because on the larger dolls I weight them with BBs and my boyfriend said “how about BB Babies?”....I thought that was good but added the e’s to confuse everyone into thinking it is BeBe (the french or something word for baby). This type of confusion works well for me because people say my name wrong already so they should probably also say my business name wrong. And then Boom!Plush! got it’s name because when I am working on a difficult piece I will generally yell “Boom! Done!” to anyone around or just to myself. So there you have it.

4. Influences?

I am influenced by a barn I saw driving to the coast that looked like it had a face on the side of it or by my nephew’s love of sharks. I am constantly influenced by everything around me whether it is the color of something or the shape. As far as other artists influencing me there are a lot of people I really admire and are inspired by. Generally the people I like to throw out on these types of questions though are those that seem to tirelessly work to advance the art they make. Because of that I would like to say the Plushteam is one of my biggest influences collectively. It is a group of some of the best plush makers in the world but more than that they are hardworking, organized and some of the most giving people I have ever met on the internet.

5. Who would you like to collaborate with?

You (Sarah)!!!! Mostly because I think it would be the most fun. If it can’t be Sarah then it would probably be super hard to pick one person. There is one thing I really wanted to do with someone a while ago but I can’t tell you because I still might do it if I can find someone else and I don’t want anyone to steal my idea. Oooooh secrets....!

6. 5 songs you like to work to?

Oh boy lets see what I got cookin’ on iTunes right now...

Undercover Martyn Flexin’ It (Passion Pit Remix) by Two Door Cinema

Something Bigger, Something Better by Amanda Blank

Cold Act III (Extended Mix) by Classixx

Go Outside by Cults

Dance Yrself Clean by LCD Soundsystem

Listen here!

But when I remember I mostly listen to Pandora radio because I don’t have to change anything or think about what to listen to.

To learn more about Casie visit BeBe Babies, Boom Plush, her blog or click on any of the images in this post to go to her Flickr accounts!

Buddy Monday returns later today!

2010-10-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Guess what friends, Buddy Monday is coming back TODAY. Get ready, get excited!

Pillow cover

2010-10-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

I finished this pillow cover today. I started it on Sunday and quickly realized I wasn't measuring things right and felt pretty frustrated. But today I finished it, and I kind of cheated but shhhh. I've been sewing a bunch of little things like coasters the past few days, trying to get up the courage to start a big project. I'm such a wuss!

For sale!

2010-10-05T11:17:00.001-07:00

I've been curious about selling on Spoonflower for a little while now. The last time they had their free swatch day I ordered a swatch of their cotton knit fabric in a simple geometric design I made quite a long time ago. It came out awesome and I really need to order some more.

So I decided today to offer it for sale on the Spoonflower site. I have so many other designs that I think would look great as fabric and I need to order some more swatches to see how they look.

So yeah! If you like this pattern you can order it in lots of different options here!

Oh and sorry for the lack of posts. I've been busy with some design work and playing with my new sewing machine!

Wedding bird mobile

2010-09-21T17:21:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to be setting up my side of Adam and I's workroom (and I did, a little bit!) but instead I made this!

My mom sent me the left over birds I made as favors for the wedding and I'd been trying to think of what to do with them. This was a nice quick way for me to have some out as a memory. The bird pattern is free, from the Spool website and the fabric was designed by me and printed through Spoonflower.

Old favorite new favorite

2010-09-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not very good at switching up the things I wear but there's something about getting to wear different shoes when it starts to get cooler out that I love! Something about having my feet mostly covered in the summer time makes me crazy (and too damn hot). So when crisper fall days start to roll around I get a little excited!

Now, I know that boat shoes are probably supposed to be summer shoes but so what! Right now is the prime time for me to want to wear them. They are super cute, comfy and come in other cute colors, AND, AND, AND are only $12.99 right now on clearance on the L.L. Bean website! And since they are from Bean's it makes me feel like I'm a wicked Mainer.

I decided to switch up my purse too. I got that purse probably 4 years ago from H&M in Boston. It's HUGE and I remember at the time I bought it so I could fit school stuff in there. I don't carry school stuff around any more so I'm not really sure why I'm using it again. But it's got a really cute lining and a special pocket for my phone so whatever. Also, I was using my Foxy Tote from Boygirlparty and I'm paranoid about messing it up since Susie doesn't make them anymore.

Really I just wanted an excuse to talk about my boat shoes.

First quilt is DONE!

2010-09-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

I finished up sewing the binding on my quilt yesterday and here it is!

TA-DA!

Baking day

2010-09-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Breakfast with Adam + new yarn + listening to Metric + clean kitchen (not anymore!) + Morgan + Leela +

apple tree in the backyard + making baked donuts + making challah bread +

rain (not just clouds) + dinner with pals = I am so in love with today!

We're through, sewing machine!

2010-09-16T14:19:00.001-07:00

Ok, we're not through but I sure am mad at you. Remember how I was all excited about sewing yesterday and I was all psyched about all the cool stuff I was about to make and you were all going to be super jealous? WELL. My machine is being a total jerk. I'm not even going to go into all the dumb things it suddenly started doing yesterday. (Thanks, Mom and Amanda for all the suggestions!) I keep trying to poke around with it but it just makes me mad so I'm just designing more color palette stuff for future sewing projects.

Adam and I had dinosaur chicken nuggets and crinkle cut fries for dinner last night. It's funny sometimes how a silly dinner can make you feel so much better!

Quilting the quilt!

2010-09-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

I spent most of Monday finally quilting my quilt. I was really nervous that I had forgotten what went into sandwiching and basting etc. My kitchen table was just slightly too small for the whole top but I think I did alright. I know for sure I should have trimmed my batting down a little more but like I said, I was so nervous!

It took me a while to figure out where to start with the quilting. Really, I'm not all that used to sewing, let alone trying to wrangle a bunch of fabric around and through my machine. I got the hang of it after a little bit. I definitely need some practice getting my stitch straight, but overall I'm happy with what I ended up with.

I decided to just stitch diagonally across the dark blocks and the little yellow ones. You can see it a little better in the next pic.

So it's alllmost done. I am still stitching the binding in the back. You can see along the left side and a teeny bit on the bottom where it's not done yet.

I can't even tell you guys how excited I am be really close to saying "I'm done with my first quilt!". SO DAMN EXCITED.

Fabric crushes

2010-09-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

I just spent way too long looking on Fabricworm and I'm totally crushing on these fabrics!

You can click on the images to go to the Fabricworm site and buy them for me! Thanks in advance!

Apparently I have a lot of pillows that need covering.

2010-09-12T14:41:00.003-07:00

Sometimes I think one of my favorite things about making stuff is how excited Adam gets. I mean, I made this envelope style pillow cover today for a throw pillow and it was like magic to him!

I've been hanging onto that Echino fabric forever and occasionally pulling it out and looking at it and just assuming I'd never use it. I think I also assumed that I just never would get into sewing but I guess that's not true!

Man, you guys, who knew that making stuff for your home felt so satisfying! Oh and p.s. the back of the pillow is a plain, natural colored linen.

Pillow cases!

2010-09-11T15:46:00.001-07:00

The other day I was determined to do some sewing. I wanted to do a fairly simple project that could be something for our home and had been really wanting to try out this pillow case tutorial for quite some time. I didn't have any fabric big enough so yesterday Casie and I went to Joann's and looked for something cheap to do a kind of practice run. It took me a little while to find something because I'm picky (I have no illusions about this and I am sure that my Mom, Adam and Casie will back me up!) and decided to take a peek in the bargain/clearance fabric section and just like when we were picking out quilting fabrics there was a little ole' colorful $3/yd bolt of cotton just waiting for me! I scooped it up, Casie was all.."Duh, I knew you'd find something here." and we left.

So I just spent the last few hours making some pillow cases. The first one is kind of wonky and the second one I had to do some seam ripping on because I'm a bonehead and didn't pay attention to what I was doing..BUT! I'm still really happy with them!

The fabric reminds me so much of my Gramma, the lilac colored bedroom she had when I was growing up and most of her sheet sets. If she were still alive I would have given these to her in a heartbeat! I'm so excited that I know how to make these now. I haven't done a whole hell of a lot of sewing and I feel like I definitely learned some stuff while working on them.

Marked Man

2010-09-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

Our house right now is consumed with the sounds of acceleration, scraping and car crashes. We downloaded and bought Burnout Paradise the other night and it's all Adam, Paul or I can think about. I don't usually like racing games but one that actually rewards you for crashing into stuff works out really well for me.

It was mostly cloudy today and oh so sleepy. It always takes me a few cloudy days to get used to the encroaching months of them. Because we are slow pokes we still don't have the house totally unpacked and a lot of the walls are still bare. I find myself poking around the house for spots where there is some color and just kind of soaking it in. Two of my favorites right now are:

The mer-bears Casie made for Adam and I as a wedding gift. They hang over our bed.

Annnnddd, the Atelier Lzc dishcloth I picked up at a cute shop in Seattle a few years ago. It hangs in our bathroom and matches our pink counter and tub!

Living with white walls is a bit foreign to me so hopefully we will quit being lazy jerks and get more color up around the house soon. Lord knows, when those winter months come around we will need it!

Coral Garden by Helle Jørgensen

2010-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

I came across Helle's work the other night on Flickr and I have been swooning over her Coral Garden pieces since!

I absolutely love the colors and detail of the work. To see more of Helle's work you can visit her Flickr or blog.

Granny squares, a little hike and motion sickness.

2010-09-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day. We got up, had some breakfast and then went for a little hike on one of the Fox Hollow Trails. It was great weather and the trail was so pretty. The forest here is so magical and green and mossy and not buggy.

When we got home I decided to try crocheting in the hammock. Just a heads up. Crocheting while sitting in a hammock can make you motion sick! Or, well, can make me motion sick. Looking down while swinging slightly side to side = NO GOOD.

I hadn't actually made any small granny squares before, only started an afghan that is like one giant one. I've made eight different squares and today decided on a layout.

It looks pretty crazy like that, but it's not reaaaally going to look like that anyway. It kind of gives me a headache to look at for too long. Well I must get back to my granny squares and watching Nip/Tuck with my bro-in-law.

Well.

2010-08-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not so sure about this knitting thing. I think that I like it but I also think that the last thing I need is another craft to get all excited about right now.

I started this sampler scarf from the Lion Brand website on Sunday. It was a lazy day, even more so than hammock party 2k10 on Saturday. Adam, Paul and I watched Terminator 2, which I had never seen and then I got Paul sucked into watching Nip/Tuck with me. The show is so ridiculous that I feel like it's a small victory that someone is willing to sit through it with me. Anyway, back to scarf/knitting... I like how it's looking, but I'm already losing a bit of interest because, uh, I don't wear scarves. I do love the yarn I'm using though. It's left over Berroco Comfort that I had left over from all the crocheting I did for our wedding.

In other exciting news! My all time favorite Casie has a video up on the Mutual of Omaha site about her aha moment. Check it out here!

This was a good chunk of my Saturday.

2010-08-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

hammock + pillow + favorite cotton blanket + Harry Potter book + pretty clouds + it was cold outside and even wrapped up in a blanket it was still cold = good way to spend part of a Saturday.

Hey guys.

2010-08-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy couple of weeks! We moved into a new place and my bro-in-law moved out to Eugene and is staying with us for a little bit. We are all really loving the new house (duplex, whatever). I knew that we really weren't happy in our old place anymore, but I don't think I realized just how much it was actually getting to us. I know I feel like some kind of weight has been lifted and I think I can probably say the same for Adam.

Now that we have a nice little private, fenced yard, were finally able to set up the hammock I got for Adam as a wedding gift.

I thought that I would be kind of scared of laying in it because I had only ever been in the canvas kind that as my mom says "is like being wrapped up in a banana peel" where they just kind of fold up around you. But, hello! New favorite place! I think I've spent more time in it than Adam has so far.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that life is feeling really great lately! Here are some reasons why:

1. I'm feeling more at ease than I have in a long time.

2. I get to have dinner every night with the deGrandibros and laugh lots.

3. Hammock, duh!

4. Morgan let me borrow a couple of her Harry Potter books. I know I'm like a million years late, but whatever!

5. I started crocheting these baby booties for one miss Leela P, who is taking her sweet time getting out of her Mama Morgan's belly!

6. There are deer all over our neighborhood and there was one right outside our front door!

7. One of my BFFs is coming to visit in October and I can't wait!

Ok guy, L8RZ.

Some things...

2010-08-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Packing sucks.
I'm warm
I wish "sleeping through Ohio" was something I could put on a resume.
I'm chattin' with Amanda.
Here's a good jam:

Threw away a ton of old bills and papers today and it felt awesome.
Our new place has a compost bin and I'm overly excited about that for some reason.
My nose itches.
I'm in love with Ruby Jewel's lemon cookie with honey lavender ice cream ice cream sandwich. You can buy them for me by the case. Thanks in advance.
Now I'm hungry.

Packing is weird.

2010-08-04T11:41:00.001-07:00

So Adam and I are going to sign a lease tonight on a super cute place in south Eugene. We're really excited. We've been living in the same house since we moved here three years ago and we're sad to leave our landlord, but we need to move on and save some money. I've never lived in a place other than the house I grew up in for this long and packing it up is feeling weird. I just started so there isn't much in boxes yet but it still looks different. It's going to be a busy August! We're moving, Adam's bro is moving out here (on route cross country with their dad as we speak!) and my dad and brothers might come visit from Seattle at the end of the month.

I got a newsletter from Piece By Piece today with their upcoming fall class schedule and it looks pretty fun! Casie and I really enjoyed our beginner quilt making class that we took so maybe we'll have to do another. I was also checking out the blog and Casie and I are on it! Our instructor, Cherie, took a few pics the last day of our class and got one of me with my finished quilt top.

There a bunch of great pics over at the blog. Check it out! I love the pics from the kid's quilt camp.

Colors, meatloaf, moving.

2010-08-02T11:32:00.001-07:00

I've got some new, neat ideas. Well, ok maybe not that new. But still feeling excited!

Also exciting: Adam and I made meatloaf in the crock pot from this book and mashed potatoes for dinner last night. It was sooo good and I can't wait to have some leftovers. I might just have to have an early lunch today!

Not as exciting: Looking for a new place to live. What a pain.

Shop update? Reopening?

2010-07-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'm finally adding some of my new stuff to the S. Jane Craft Etsy shop. It's a little scary adding new, different stuff. So here are the first two new things, now available in the shop! Click on the images to go the listing.

Diamond Pendant in Sunset

Rainy Day Brooch

Quilt progress!

2010-07-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

Quilting class again today! I get so excited seeing it all come together. I had to trim down my white and yellow blocks because they were a little big and a little outta control. This pic is when Casie and I were working on sewing our blocks into strips. Casie is a machine and daredevil who doesn't pin so she was flying through.

I plan to never remove that little piece of painter's tape that Cherie, our instructor, put on my machine to mark 1/4 in. Unless I end up getting a 1/4 in plate or foot or whatever, but even still, I might just leave it.

So here is where I was at the end of class today. I'm really happy with how it's coming out and can't wait to sew the last couple rows on tomorrow and then maybe attempt to add the border. I'm a little nervous about that part though! Yaaaay quilting!

So many options!

2010-07-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

I've been cross stitching so many little designs lately trying to get a good stock of stuff. I realized yesterday that there are really so many things I could do. I tried some out, but I'm still not sure which ones I like besides the necklace.

The coral colored flower is from a antique pattern and I put it on a headband. All the rest are my own designs and from top to bottom are a brooch, hair pin and necklace. This is only a few of the pieces I've been stitching but what do you think?

I need some feedback, pals!

Also, I can't get this song out of my head today! If you haven't checked out the mystery that is (or, well, was) Iammaiwhoami, I highly recommend it. Super creepy and intriguing.

Spy vs. Villain

2010-07-13T13:44:00.000-07:00

Adam and I were at Border's a few weeks ago looking for The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis (which is pretty awesome, by the way!) when I saw something that reminded me of a couple books I own.

(The Usborne Spy's Guidebook & How to Be a Villain by, Neil Zawacki)

The spy one I got in 4th or 5th grade. I remember looking at it every time my mom and I would go to the bookstore until she eventually got it for me. It's not like I ever had anyone to spy on, but man oh man would I have been ready! It teaches you how to make pocket spy kits, how to disguise your looks and voice, sneak around and many other helpful things to learn how to be a spy.

Make a spy training course in your own back yard!

I think the most use I got out of it at the time was writing notes with my friends Lisa and Steph in secret codes. Sneaky but clearly not using our full spy potential.

The other book, How to Be a Villian, I got from my good friend Ellen for one of my early twenty-something birthdays. This one teaches you how to pick a perfect villain name, plan your world takeover and how to chose the right minions. The writing is really funny and the illustrations are great.

Choosing the right evil name takes time!

Unfortunately I've yet to put this one to use. Guess it's time to start my reign of villainous terror over the Eugene/Springfield area. Good luck trying to catch me with all my spy skills, coppers and heroes!

Seriously though, who wants to make a spy kit with me?

First blocks!

2010-07-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Here are my little blocks from Casie and I's beginning quilt making class:

Nothing much yet but it's exciting to see! The teacher has been showing us lots of little tips that seem to make everything feel so easy. It's great!

It's only supposed to be in the 70's today and I'm so glad. I think I might do some clean up around the house, do some stitching maybe, eat some Otter Pops?

Quilt Crushes

2010-07-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

Adam and I just watched a bunch of X-Files episodes. Some were kind of gross out and I didn't really fell like going to bed right after so I decided to look up some quilts on Flickr. So here are some quilts that I think are really neat!

1. Zen Mini Quilt, 2. Wedding quilt top, 3. Paletas Quilt - texture, 4. zigzig, 5. Triangles in a Square Quilt, 6. me plus you quilt, 7. Lines#6, 8. 13.365, 9. Color Study: Log Cabin ~ 2001, 45"X45"

Casie and I's first class went really well and I think we are both excited to see what we will be able to do with what we learn. The class went by so fast that I didn't get to take in progress pictures but I'll take some of what we got done tomorrow. Casie took one of her progress though! You can see it over at her blog.

I'm going to go crawl in bed now and watch some Simpsons and lay in front of a fan. The summer sunshine is nice and all but I'm ready for some cooler days and when Adam and I don't live in a house that stays all hot all the time.

Night dudes.

Quilting Class!

2010-07-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

Casie and I are starting our quilting class today at noon! It's three Sundays at Piece By Piece Fabrics . I'm excited to finally learn the quilting basics and I'm nervous because, well, I'm just that way about anything new.

These are the fabrics I got. They're a little crazy but hopefully it will turn out OK. I mean, it's my first, ok second....maaaaybe third, try anyway!

Casie thinks someone is going to make fun of her sewing machine but then I reminded her that mine had had two serious drops and I think that made her feel a little better. (One of those drops was down Mellen Street hill in Portland, ME and if you know that hill you know it's not somewhere you want your sewing machine to be rolling down. Somehow all that broke was the bulb!)

Anyway! I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Piece By Piece is a really rad shop and everyone there seems super friendly. I'm gonna bring my camera and hopefully get some in progress shots. Wish us luck!

Quick peek and bone chisels (jk not really)

2010-07-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick peek at some projects I'm working on!

It's been a lot of stitching and a lot of Doctor Who the past few weeks. We are finally starting to get the gross heat that everyone else has been having. It just started yesterday so it's not too bad in our house yet but I'm already dreading it. Maybe I was one of the only ones, but I really wasn't minding the unseasonably cool weather we were having.

Well, I'm going to return to trying to keep cool and then make some pizza dough! We are going to a BBQ later and we're going to bring stuff for grilled pizzas. We made them when we went up to Seattle for the 4th and they came out so delicious.

Also while in Seattle on the 4th, I took some time to study up on medical equipment sterilization procedures.

And by study up I mean look through a procedure book my dad has for work and look for the old medical tools that I have and yell.."OH GROSS OUT!" at what they were once used for. I wish I had taken a picture of one of the grosser ones (like the bone chisels or things that cut nose cartilage, totally pukatronic!) but my camera battery crapped out immediately after that pic.

I think you should play this: ImmorTall

2010-07-02T11:51:00.000-07:00

Adam and I were chatting about indie games earlier and how frustrating it is that the mainstream view of games is all blood and guts and guns. I don't really play many games like that and never really have. What I have always loved about games is that you get to see worlds you never could have imagined and have experiences that you can't have in real life. And while I don't need to feel something when I play a game, I've realized lately that when I do, regardless of the emotion, it sticks with me for a looong time. I still remember screaming and turning off my monitor when a zombie popped out of a puddle in Half-Life 2, the horrible grinding/growling sound in grandma's house when you play as Carmen in The Path, being psyched when Pango (that stubborn bitch!) finally gave me her picture in Animal Crossing: Wild World and how I felt at the end of ImmorTall by Pixelante.

It's a very short game so I don't want to give anything away but on the Pixelante site ImmorTall is described as "a poignant walk through the life of an alien caught in the midst of humanity".

( click on screenshots to go to the game)

The game is so beautiful in the simplicity of the story and artwork. I had been meaning to share it with Adam for so long because it just randomly pops in my head sometimes. I finally did today and then decided to post about it here in hopes of sharing it with a few more people!

So if you have a few minutes please use them to check out ImmorTall. You can literally play it in a few minutes and if you don't think it's beautiful or feel nothing at the end they you are probably a robot, or dead, or a jerk! (JK, kinda)

Flower Necklace

2010-06-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here is the other cross stitch piece I did. I decided to turn this one into a necklace as well.

It's the middle of June and only in the 50's outside. What the crap, Oregon!

Diamond Necklace

2010-06-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

A few months back I did some little cross stitch pieces with the intention of making some kind of wearable things out of them. I finally got to work on one of those today.

It's a diamond necklace! Get it? Jokes!

You can see a pic of it on at my Flickr account. I'm not sure about the gold chain or the length, but I haven't totally secured the backing yet so I might change it out. I'm not really even positive if I like it as a necklace.

I've been so drowsy the past few days. The weather has been great but since moving here I've developed allergies and all I want to do is nap and blow my nose and sneeze. It's pretty lame.

Stitches

2010-06-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Variations of an arch stitch and a lace stitch. Switched the blog layout up a wee bit. I like keeping it simple! Now I have to go get ready to meet the husband and friends downtown. Happy Friday, dudes!

Progress

2010-06-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Right now I have four projects in progress and I'm some how being productive on all of them. Usually I will start something and then get bored and move on. (Sorry all you unfinished things in the craft room!)

This is the newest project that I for some reason felt I needed to start over the weekend. I have another afghan in progress that is going to take a looooong loooooong time and I'm in no rush to finish. I wanted to start something that I could do relatively quickly. It's going to be a baby blanket and I have no idea what I am going to do with it when it's done. Sell it maybe?

This is the afghan that I am going to be working on for a long time. This isn't even one of each block yet. It's the Weekend in Stockholm Throw by Debbie Stoller. Casie ripped the pattern out of an issue of Bust that she had a while back. I'm using Cotton-Ease yarn (my new favorite yarn!) by Lion Brand and I absolutely love how the blocks are coming out but the pattern is written so weird. I'm glad that the copy of the pattern I have also has a diagram and that I know how to read them because I would be insanely frustrated. I think they're going to take me a while because doing a crap load of triple crochets tires my hands the eff out.

Here is the progress on my paper piecing. I guess I don't really have anything else to say about that!

Last but not least I am working on thank you cards for the wedding but I'm not going to share those until they have been finished and sent out!

Hand quilting

2010-06-02T14:55:00.000-07:00

So Monday was my birthday and I wasn't feeling so well. I had grand plans of snacks and board games with friends but when it came down to it, I was just too tired. Adam and I made some strawberry cupcakes in our new Kitchenaid mixer and some salsa and plopped on the couch to marathon some X Files. (Thanks Netflix instant watch!)

One of my gifts from Adam is a quilting class that I'm going to try and sign up for for July. I'm so excited about learning how to quilt that I decided to finally try out some paper piecing in the mean time. It was on my list of projects to try out after all the wedding stuff was done. I know that probably the easiest way to start out would be with what seems to be the most common shape for paper piecing - hexagons. But I decided I don't much care for hexagons quite as much as I like triangles, so I watched a tutorial on hexes and diamonds...and made triangles.

So here was the start on Monday:

And here is where I'm at as of yesterday's mini marathon of sewing and Torchwood (what? That show is ridiculous!):

Annnnd here are just some closeups:

My mom called this "typical Sarah" - wanting to just dive into a craft project without learning a whole lot about it first. I know it's probably impatient of me, but I feel like practicing is sometimes a waste of time that I could be putting into a finished piece. That's bad, I know, I know. Crafting is probably the only thing that I do where I feel comfortable diving in and sometimes totally crashing and burning.

Anyway, I'm having a blast. I think this is going to end up being a cover for a throw pillow or something. I'm already getting pumped up about other color combinations and shapes!

Crazy weeks

2010-06-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a nutty couple of weeks it's been. I know I already mentioned it but Adam and I got married on May 15th. The pic below is from the preview pics our photographer, Erin Wallace, posted on her blog a few weeks ago. You should totally check out her photography blog as well as her personal one.

Adam looked oh so handsome! It really was such a perfect day and everything went so smoothly. Everyone was so happy and I think they all had lots of fun. I didn't get to take as many pics of the decor as I would have liked but luckily other people did! My pal Casie, who was one of my bridesmaids, has some great posts over at her blog about the wedding weekend and set up and hang outs and all that good stuff here, here and here! (It's a three-parter!) When I have more pictures of decor collected I'll make a post about all the stuff my family and I made. As it turns out, big brothers are excellent at making paper flowers and putting up decorations.

Oh and here is one pic from honeymoonin'. We drove all over the place but here is a pic from the top of Cadillac Mountian looking down on Bar Harbor.

Ok, I'll be back with another post about a new project I started a little later!

Perfect!

2010-05-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Most perfect weekend ever. The wedding was perfect, the weather was perfect. Everyone was so happy and we got to see so many of the faces that we miss. Here we are with some of our friends who came/ were in the wedding when we walked to the beach yesterday.

I'll post some wedding pics when I get some!

Remember me?

2010-05-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, remember me? I'm currently floating around in a sea of wedding related stuff, trying not to think too much about how much there still is to do. I can't believe the wedding is only 10 days away!

TEN. EFFING. DAYS.

It's bananas! Well, I don't want to share too much of what I've been working on but I figured I could share just a few little pics.

So there, I know it's not sharing too much at all but I've been having some serious guilt over not updating. Maybe I'll share a little more next week when I get a chance!

In the meantime, in case you didn't already, maybe you should check out some Buddy Monday posts. They will be back all new after wedding craziness so catch up now!

I'm still here!

2010-04-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!

I know I've been kind of absent as of late but hopefully I'll get some posts up really soon. I've only been back in Maine a couple days and my mom and I have already done so much stuff! Today we meet with the wedding photographer Erin, from E. Wallace Photography. You should check out her pretty photos and blog!

OK, so real updates soon!

I heart Bailey Island

2010-04-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

I'll be heading back to Maine next week and I'm so excited. I know I've probably said it a bunch of times already but I can't believe it's almost wedding time! For those of you that don't know, the wedding will be taking place on Bailey Island. It's a special place for us and sometimes Adam and I daydream about living there someday and Adam taking a boat to work in Portland every day. (Even though you drive to the island, whateves!) So I wanted to take a moment to share, with those who have never been there, some beautiful photos around the island from Flickr.

1. Fishing Shack, 2. Granite Cribbing, 3. Untitled, 4. cribstone, 5. Mackerel Cove, 6. boat fog 2, 7. Maine harbor, 8. Winter Sunrise, Lands End, Bailey Island, Harpswell, Maine, 9. maine

I'm so excited that Adam and I have some friends coming to the wedding from Oregon. I think maybe only one of them has been to Maine (maybe Tim?) so it's going to be awesome showing them around! 37 days til I'm a Mrs!

Patterns

2010-03-30T10:30:00.001-07:00

I don't know why, but for some reason in the last few weeks I have started a couple new projects. One is an afghan that I will share pics of someday when the sun comes out again and the other has been stitching up some cross stitch patterns I made.

I'm not totally sure what these are going to end up as yet, but I have some good ideas.

I want to work on some nice patterns of well...patterns for cross stitching. I've been making my patterns in Illustrator and it's so easy!

I'm going to be heading over to the Twin Ravens Press studio (aka Kristin's house!) again today to help out with finishing up a big order. I was over there for most of yesterday along with one of Kristin's other friends helping to bind booklets and piece things together. It's nice to get out of the house and help out a pal. Especially when it's doing things that you never do on your own!

Fabric and stuff

2010-03-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm heading home to Maine in a few weeks for an insane marathon of wedding decoration and favor making with my Mom. Although I've been keeping busy with some wedding projects there is still so much to be done!

Last week I got my fabric from Spoonflower in the patterns I designed for our save the dates and invitations. I'm not going to tell you what the fabric is going to be used for but it's going to be cute! I got a yard of each pattern on a cotton/linen blend canvas and I absolutely love how they came out!

The colors look much richer in person but it's not the nicest day here and I snapped a pic during the only few minutes of sunshine so far today. I changed the fuchsia pattern up and I like it lots.

I helped out my friend Kristin yesterday and I got to see the plates for our invitations. I kept taking them out and looking at them and I can't wait until we can start printing. Even though there is still much to do for the wedding it's so cool to see things coming together.

Only 50 more days!

HEY

2010-03-16T16:10:00.001-07:00

I found this illustration today on my computer. I'm not sure what I should do with these ladies! I drew them last year but never really finished them. What do you guys think? Any suggestions?

Also, I'm sorry! Buddy Monday completely skipped my mind yesterday. GEEZE.

All dyeing all the time.

2010-03-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

I got to learn something new on Friday! My friend Morgan came over to hang out and decided to bring over supplies to dye some yarn. I had no idea she was bringing it over so it was an awesome surprise. It's something I have been thinking about a lot lately and had been meaning to ask her about so yeah, like I said, awesome surprise!

Those are the skeins we dyed. It was a lot of fun and my fingers turned the blackest black ever. I'm so excited I learned how to do this and I really want to try it again soon!

Ok, now Adam and I are off to finally look at wedding rings!

Flat Stanley

2010-03-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

Adam's (and soon mine!) niece, Carisa, is reading Flat Stanley in school and asked us to help her out with a project. We were sent a little template and we had to decorate it and dress him up how you would dress where we live. Since we live in the mostly rainy Pacific Northwest we went a raincoat and rain boots.

Since Adam and I weren't familiar with the story or character we looked up a picture on Google to see what his face looked like. We didn't realize until after we drew it on that the version of him we were drawing was actually illustrated by a professor at the college we went to, Scott Nash.

I made all of Stanley's clothing and hair today out of card stock and it was really fun! We are going to take some pictures of him out and about town tomorrow. I didn't realize what a big project these Flat Stanley's are. They have been all over the world, what a cool project! I sure hope that Carisa likes him!

Buddy Monday - Beartrap

2010-03-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

Funny thing about this week's buddy, Nick...I've never met him! However, he is the boyfriend of one of my BFF's, Bobbi and I'll be meeting him when I go back to Maine in about a month. I'm really happy that he was able to do the questions for a couple reasons - I think his work is awesome and fits perfectly in my goal to use Buddy Monday as a way to highlight all different kinds of art. So enjoy Beartrap because it's full of good stories, links, artwork and even a recipe! I couldn't have asked for more of a soon to be buddy!

1. Tell us about yourself?

I am Beartrap, A 24 year old tattooist and mascot. I live and work currently in Portland Maine at BLNDSGHT Tattoo with Watson Atkinson and Shannon Doah. I also play music; formerly, I played bass in the New Hampshire based band Backstabbers incorporated and I currently play in the band Waranimal. I can usually be found riding my bike or shooting fireworks at stuff and trying to skateboard. If I get lucky I might graduate someday from the University of Southern Maine, where I have been studying printmaking since 2004.

2. What do you make?

Jokes [ http://www.youtube.com/user/xieatbagelsx#p/u - check out my hightime for a jokes ] Flyers. Stone teeth. 2-d and 3-d prints. Logos. Lots of drawings . Loud noises. Dinner. The bed. Plans to party. Fun. I once made a my sister pass chicken noodle soup through her nose at the dinner table, I think we were being loud and my mom had yelled at us to be quiet or stop laughing or something. I looked at my sister and pretended to silently stifle a laugh as she was eating some soup and she could not hold it. It was awesome ( it might have been orange soda actually, or milk, I don't remember which one that time was )

I also make pizza and once made this Pb&J pizza for dessert at a pizza party I had - its awesome.

3 cups of Bisquick Heart smart mix
1 cup of Soymilk
peanut butter
Jelly
Chrushed Graham Crackers
Shredded coconut

follow the directions on the bisquick heart smart box to make a double batch of biscuit dough and roll it out/stretch it out so its really thin and instead of cutting it to make biscuits just leave it whole and bake it like you would normally.
Once it has come out of the oven let cool a little and then spread peanut butter and jelly to taste over your giant biscuit.
Sprinkle Graham crackers and coconut to taste as well atop and enjoy.

you could also put banana and honey or fluff on top if you wished. I bet that would be good and if you eat meat you could omit the jelly and add banana and bacon for Elvis Pizza, or just use veggie bacon if you wanted, that also sounds awesome.

3. How did you come up with your shop/business/blog name?

Beartrap is a childhood nickname I was given after trapping a young blackbear in a walk-in cooler at a campground/restort that my family once ran in northern Maine. Til Death Do us Party comes from a tattoo I have on my leg of a heart shaped pizza with wings and a banner that reads " Til Death Do us Party, Rest in Pizzas" I could not decide if I wanted "rest in pizzas" or "pizza my heart" I got the idea from my friend Jeremy Myers and I have not asked him but I think he may have gotten it from the Groovie Ghoulies song "Til Death Do Us Party" which I had not heard at the time of his suggestion. Til Death Do us Party is also an army I am starting of people who party hard, there are some stipulations which can be revealed at the time of recruitment if one should wish to enlist but it basically entails getting some sort of ridiculous tattoo that somewhere says " Til Death Do us Party"

4. Influences?
The outlaw print makers - Dennis Mcnett, Sean Starwars, And Tom Huck. I am largely inspired by people who in addition to their work/music/ whatever they are producing have created an alter ego/pseudonym that they adopt and stubbornly refuse to break character. This is something that has always intrigued me and I am starting to notice it around me with some of my friends and people I see and interact with on a daily basis and it is really awesome. And as far as my tattooing goes my mentor, Watson Atkinson, has been incredbily influential but I am also really drawn to the work of Thomas Hooper , Daniel Dimattia, Yann Black, Guy Aitchison and in large by the sort of spirit and play on words / humor of a lot of Americana tattooing.

5. Who would you like to party with?

Tom Green, Manowar, Jim Henson and all the muppets, Robert E. Howard, R2D2, Mike Judge and/or Beavis and Butthead, Emo Phillips, Yogi Bear, David Lee Roth, and Shakira.

6. 7 songs you like to work to?

Blind Guardian - " The Soulforged "
Manowar - " Sons of Odin "
Basil Poledouris's " Anvil of Crom" from the Conan the Barbarian Score
Tragedy - " Conflicting Idea"
Van Halen - "Jump"
Polyphonic Spree - " Light and Day"
Jeff Walker and Die Fluffers covering "You're still on my mind" by the Byrds

Listen here!

To learn more about Nick & Beartrap check out his blog, BLNDSGHT, his jokes or click on any images in this post.

And it continues..

2010-03-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

Back to wedding crocheting!

Austin half watching over and half staring me down.

Sometimes in the right (or wrong?) light he kind of looks like he only has one eye.

So I'm up to 87 pieces and counting. I feel like I could have so many more done but I'm trying really hard to make sure I take a day or two in between crochet-a-thons so I don't end up hurting my wrists.

Yesterday I went over to talk final details about our invitations with Kristin of Twin Ravens Press. I am so excited that we are getting to work with her and I can't wait to help out once we can get started with printing.

It feels so good to get stuff like that checked of the wedding to do list. Most of the time is spent feeling kind of like things might not ever come together and then before you know it there's only a few things left to do! Well, only a few more things to do if you aren't my mom or I because we still need to make a thousand things.

Vote for Sarah & Brian!

2010-03-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

I don't usually post stuff about other people's giveaways but this one is too good on all accounts! The reason, the prize, all of it!

1. It involves a Sarah and us Sarah's with an H need to stick together.
2. It involves a wedding contest and since I'm planning mine right now, I see how stressful it can get and am all for helping someone else's be easy breezy!
3. The couple is really adorable!
3. The prize is from one of my favorite Etsy artists, Marañón, and it would be a dream to own a piece from her.

So here are the rules via Sarah and Brian's blog, Westervin: Remember to comment over there, NOT here for a chance to win and say that Sarah from S. Jane sent you!

Follow this link to our Ultimate Wedding Contest entry page.
Click “Vote for this Entry”
Enter your email address (you will NOT receive spam, this is just to verify that you are an actual person)
Leave a comment on this post with your vote number (e.g. I’m vote #170). To get your vote number, just check the vote count on our entry page after you’ve received your confirmation email.* In your comment, be sure to include your name in the “Name” field and your email address in the “Email” field.
Tell others to vote for us. Why? Because you’ll get additional entries and increase your chances of winning the necklace! So tweet about it, blog about it, post a link on your Facebook wall or email it to your friends. Just ask them to leave your name in their comment (e.g. I’m vote #170 and Kelly Jones told me to vote!)
Give yourself a pat on the back!

*If you’ve already voted for us chances are I know about it. Don’t worry about the vote number unless you remember it.

This giveaway ends Sunday, March 14th at 11:59pm CST

So go forth and vote, you guys! If nothing else you will help to make a cute couple's wedding dream seem not so far away!

Yeesh

2010-03-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

I got so caught up doing some design work, cleaning Adam and I's room (It was horrible in there. Just horrible!) and doing laundry today that Buddy Monday totally skipped my mind! Adam has been away since Wednesday and not spending the weekend with him has pretty much thrown off what day it is for me.

Right now I am eating some pasta salad and drinking some Fizzy Lizzy soda, or I guess, sparkling fruit juice. It's so good and I'm in love with the packaging! So cute!

So no new buddy today, but if you haven't checked out the past couple weeks then you should catch up while drinking some Fizzy Lizzy!