bacon! !

umm. do i need to say anything here? no. JunkYard ClubHouse has said it all and even gives us instructions for making this most wonderful of costumes i've ever laid my eyes upon (ok maybe that's a little over the top- - but it's a bacon costume!!) i will forever remember the first thing i ate after 14 years of being a vegetarian, it was a BLT sandwich from Cafe Mondo, i was very hung over and it was very very good. and ever since that first bite of bacon after so many years without it's true- i haven't been able to shut up about how much i love that salty pork product. Move over Wonder Woman dress.

sunday's tights..

are blue!

i also have a pair in turquoise. and i love them so.. H&M is where i got them. how much better would the world be if we all walked around in brightly colored tights?

clutch me

i'm really loving this old vinyl billboard material and i'm thrilled i have so much of it left. here are three clutches i've made this week. i'm using these fantastic wall decals that i think look just perfect against the very man made material.


you like? hopefully i'll have these in stores soon and in my Etsy shop. i'm having so much fun making them. and it's so nice not having to make that duct tape material.

i'm also pretty excited about these orange tights i got this week. and i have to say they were totally inspired by the fabulous color i see daily here and here.

what i loved this week...

...from the world wide interwebs:


these prints the Sampler posted from Alicia Block, love that saturated look.


these amazing spider cupcakes from Not Martha


these button plates that Craft posted about by Kiki Van Eijk


this rug that Sister Diane posted from the new Crochet Me book

and without even realizing it i see a pattern here. guess i was drawn to circles this week.. happy friday!

i want this dress for Halloween

I sort of stopped dressing up for Halloween. I don't know what happened, I just kind of lost my enthusiasm for it. Although Halloween is quite a production at my work.. afterwards I'd like to just throw this adorable dress on. Instructions for making it and more sweet photos over at Gratz Industries. Anyone want to sew it up real fast in a grown-up size?

the streets are talking.

why do i love graffiti? because it's art, because it's a part of any city landscape, because it screams out we were here and i love wondering who that we is and what their version of the city looks like. i don't understand people who think graffiti ruins things, to me it makes the landscape richer.


we live in man made cities after all, made of concrete, brick and mortar and graffiti is just part of the life of any city.



admittedly i never paid as much attention to graffiti before an ex of mine who took part in the scene here started pointing out different taggers and patterns. we'd go on walks that became all about finding certain tags, he'd take me to places he knew were covered in spray paint and tell me who was who and what certain things meant, how to climb a wall to tag the highest part of it, the perfect time of night for tagging... and i fell in love with all the layers of it, it's a language, a code and an art form.



i love nature, but i live in the city for a reason and i think it's just as important to take walks through dirty city streets, the abandoned ones full of dumpsters and broke down signs, as it is to get out into the country once in a while.



the city's got something to tell you, you just need to put your head down and look.

me, other places.

it's nothing i wouldn't tell you here, but in addition to posting on SFist (umm sporadically these days) i'm also posting on my work blog. every thursday is now dedicated to crafts and there should be some good stuff up there. . so check it out and pass it along.

that image is from night jar books- when i was looking for an icon for our crafty work blog posts i stumbled across these amazing handmade journals on flickr. they have an Etsy page where you can buy these fine looking books too, so be sure to stop by.

for your to do list. .

be there or be square!

pretty in a new way.

Yesterday while Jack slept, I made some new things out of this reclaimed billboard material I've had lying around for a while. I originally got this stuff way back when I was interning at ReadyMade, you can still buy it in their online store (although I must admit it's a little pricey). Then a friend of mine who worked at KQED gave me all of their old street signs from one year, so I have a ton of this stuff, calling to me just waiting to be used. Really I'm getting pretty sick of making duct tape wallets, so I'm hoping this will be a good replacement for people. The material is so easy to sew and it doesn't gum up my sewing machine the way duct tape does, and it feels like it will have a longer life.


I've been meaning to make Jennifer a wallet ever since I saw her carrying around her cash and cards in a little baggie. We talked about making an accordian type wallet, so you could just stuff your change and cash and cards in and easily pull them all out. I'm still working out the kinks, but I'm pretty happy with the first couple I made in that style.

I also made some card holders (two sizes) and the checkbook wallet size I traditionally make out of duct tape. Not sure if I should bring these by a store and beg them to take them instead of the old duct tape wallets or add these to my Etsy Shop and see how people like them. Even though it's the same format as the old wallets working with a new material has totally invigorated me and all I want to do is play and make more today.. alas so much else to do.

While I worked on these I finally listened to Sister Diane's great podcast on Crafty Overload, which I completely related to and recommend to all crafters out there. In fact if you haven't listened to any of Diane's podcasts or read her blog Craftypod yet, add it to your list. It's always inspiring and full of awesome tuturials, I have no idea how she does all she does but I'm so glad she's doing it.

things i wish Jack could do besides sleep and look cute..

my laundry
cook
sew up some new curtains for the bedroom
vacuum once in a while
clean his own litter
bring in a little extra income

this is for my mom. .

Because I got a message from her last night that was just a muffled voice singing for about 3 minutes and then a loud roar of a crowd. It wasn't until about half way through that I remembered she was at a Bruce Springsteen concert. I love the image of my mom holding up her cell phone at a concert so I could kind of be there with her. Even though I talked to her today and she told me that was actually for my good friend who she knows loves Bruce and who she also knows is going through a hard time right now. "You didn't erase the message did you? That was for him!" Like most people I think my mom's the smartest, funniest, wisest person I know and this just made me love her more. She's a jersey girl by way of Italy and and she's got a giant crush on Bruce Springsteen. We also talked about that amazing book, Eat, Pray, Love - which she's in the middle of right now and just loves. Of course she does, she's my mom.

more please.

i missed my one year blogging anniversary in september. this space has changed a lot for me in a year, so as a sort of a nod to the more revealing stuff i used to post i thought it would be fitting to post this piece i wrote in my writing group over the weekend. it came from a writing prompt that was just the phrase 'more hot sweet more'.. don't worry it's not all that graphic. happy anniversary and thanks for reading. xo


more hot sweet more please
i do not want the steady, the mundane,
the i love to see your face and only your face every morning at 9am for the rest of our lives
for ever and ever and ever
no
i want more hot sweet more
in the park, sipping on ice cold beers that slip
out of our hands as we grope and latch
onto each other your tongue
firmly planted in my mouth
your hands reaching for my ass
mud and dirt and we are sliding down the hill
the gutter punks not even noticing
the high school kids unaware sneaking stolen cigarettes
we are part of the landscape and i just want more
hot sweet more
on the stoop
waiting for a cab
in the bar, corner booth dark and musty
on mission street
in the car
on the table
more hot sweet more please
with strangers
and friends of friends
and people i haven't met yet
do not give me the everyday love
the mundane
the house set up only to be broken
i do not want it now
i want more hot sweet more
in cities i haven't visited yet
with strangers i do not trust
after my coffee in the morning, with my ham and eggs
during my lunch break
feed it to me like meals please more
i want the racing pulse
my red lips swollen from kissing to long
my checks scratched from rough facial hair
i want to live in the possibility of a kiss
i want to make out for hours and days
no clothes on the floor
no risk of anything
but bitten tongues
and stiff necks

reasons to walk slower.

happy friday.

these playful dresses made by Joy Kampia made my day. don't think i could ever wear it, but i'm especially fond of the hamburger dress. but love the sundae and ice cream cone one too.


saw them via Craft

oh the horror.

I'm sure you have great freinds too. But some days I look around and I can't believe how many talented people I have in my life, I mean my friends sort of kick ass. This is Ben's art. I don't have a link to direct you to but one day soon I'm hoping he has his website up, or an Etsy shop where you can buy his killer drawings and paintings.


If you're in SF tonight you should come by Frisson, where Ben will be having an art show. His stuff is reasonably priced and goes quickly - so come early.

HORROR SHOW
Illustrations by Ben Minter
Opening Reception
Thursday, October 4th, 2007
7pm-9pm
Frisson
244 Jackson St.
San Francisco, CA 94111

do this.

If you are in SF tomorrow you should head on over to 111 Minna and go to this book launch party for Craft, Inc.

(click on the image to make it bigger so you can read all the lovely details).