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All these "ashley g inspired" pumpkins were created by Stephanie, who I am now referring to as "the pumpkin queen". She made a beardy pumpkin for goodness sake. A BEARDY PUMPKIN!!!
If ever there were a day I wish I were still in elementary school....a party, a costume parade, no real work, candy, popcorn, and apples and a movie. Then trick-or-treating. Now THAT'S Halloween.
Wishing everyone a safe, spooky, bewitching, memorable All Hallows Eve!!!!!!
I finally broke down and bought a XYRON 500 sticker maker! I've wanted it for quite some time (sure, I would take the super fancy one, but this one is $20). I was naive and thought it would put a glossy coating on top like real stickers, which it does not. It's more like a glue stick applier. BUT STILL. I love it. Here are my first sticker attempts.
Oh… the plans I have for you, XYRON 500.
And in other exciting news, a brand new web site has launched! Meet The Poor is in fact what the subhead reads, "an artist discovery ground". I am honored to be the second artist interviewed. You can read my interview here. The questions were like talking to your friend, and I like that approach. The initial silliness in the questions often leads to more thought-provoking answers and that's always good, right? Or silly but truthful answers :)
And you can read the very first interview with Michael C Hsiung (my talented partner in crime from our show this summer) right here.
Happy Monday!!
If I don't finish the one costume I'm thinking of I can always go as a hacking, coughing, kleenex-toting monster… attractive, I know. I'm not even sure what our Halloween plans entail quite yet.
I did get pumpkins for the front of our building! Will they be stolen or smashed? Yes, quite possibly, but it just comes with the territory. And I will enjoy their cute Halloweenness while they last.
We hit some estate sales this weekend because as of today I have lost Drew to Guitar Hero for the Wii. Also, he (okay, we) got Mac OS X Leopard. It's like smart-dorky-Mac-using-Wii-playing boy Christmas around our apartment.
I got the following:
AMAZING old photos
They're big too. The photo of the two little girls is 13.5" x 16.5" and the lovely posing lady is about 28" x 11"
This very old purse for $3
And I have been coveting this type of little cactus for some time and Home Depot happened to have a little display of them!
I think they make a great small holiday gift or hostess gift or just a little surprise for someone. And for under $4? Yes indeed. You can read about them here. They go by a few different names it seems. "Red Top" (which is what I googled) and "Moon Cactus". Whatever they're called, I'm crazy about my little guy :)
I hope everyone had a great weekend!!
After seeing so many inspiring bookcases all over the web (I'm talking to you, Design*Sponge), I knew our new bookcase was destined for color coordination! (This is the six-and-a-half-foot bookcase I knew we could haul up our narrow flights of stairs by ourselves and yeah… it was in fact heavier than I thought.)
I am sick as a dog (twice in as many months… before, I was on such a cold-free kick) and there must be something about the internal grossness you feel when you're sick that makes you need things clean. I had to wash the sheets. I had to clean the rugs. I had to organize the bookshelf. So there you go :)
My sister arrived in town today! We're getting her settled and her apartment set up so it should be a busy few days. And there's still plenty of time to get her a pumpkin for her new place. Which is of course of utmost importance ;)
OH! And the wee tiny guy on top is a Baby Treeson. See?
Since it's finally all "fall-ey" out, what's better than fall-inspired prints? Here are four new limited edition prints!
"You and Me (Green)"
Measures 8½" × 4½"
"You and Me" (this one is actually quite vibrant in real life)
Measures 8½" × 4½"
"With the Little One"
Measures 4 3/4" × 5 5/8"
"With the Little One (Golden)"
Measures 4 3/4" × 5 5/8"
All of these prints are only an edition size of 20 and they are $28 each. Each print will be signed, dated, and numbered.
Where can you find them? Funny you should ask :) They will soon be available at Artstream Gallery's online shop. Feel free to preorder by sending e-mail to info@artstreamstudios.com, and you can always check out the latest happenings on Susan's blog right here!
And a HUGE thank you to all the info from the last post. I will be looking into each and every suggestion. So feel free to keep them coming! I think since the holiday season is so busy we won't be able to take a trip until after that, which may be an awkward time for traveling—BUT I imagine it is super off-season : ) We've had plans to go to different cities, etc., etc., but right now I am really craving a bit more rural and relaxing, or at least a slower-paced city. For all the benefits of self-employment, we still haven't actually taken a vacation that was more that 3 days and that was over a year ago!
…for creativity, that is. (Yes, I am such a dork).
This is how I spent last night drawing, and it's overcast enough and rainy and chilly (!!!) that I will do the same today. It may be strange but I hate drawing with bright lights on. And my lamp was annoying me so much that I went ahead and used candles and frankly, I got a lot accomplished tucked in my corner with just candles flickering and my string lights on. It always goes back to "cozy". Oooohhh… to have a fireplace.
I spent a great deal of time looking at Maine's Craigslist for a temporary sublet. Just to spend a month (maybe less) having a working vacation on the water (most of them were near, but not on, the water) I was looking at Portland and at Lubec. Rocky coast, crashing waves… yes. That would be a good month indeed. So if anyone out there knows some great spots in Maine or cities I don't know about—I know there are beautiful rivers but I'm really looking for an ocean view. Just something I'm thinking about. And this may be a silly question, but do you need to have a passport now to go to Canada?
Or maybe other states? I'm just thinking about that sort of stuff…
And over at the Design*Sponge Eames Rocker giveaway I couldn't believe that among the finalists there are four of my prints in these people's amazing homes! I spotted the one on entry #15, Drew found the the one on entry #5, and Jennifer (thanks again!) spotted a few including #11. Eeep!
Happy Monday!!
Check it out: Plush You the book!!!
And if you turn to page 46 you will see this…
What? Who? Huh? Oh, that's right… that's ME!!!
I am quite thrilled to be a part of this book, if you can't tell. Thank you so much to Kristen of Schmancy for beginning the Plush You! shows and now the book!!
UPDATE
I think I posted this photo way back when but here is the moment I finished "O Giant One"
The crazed look on my face comes from hours of hand embroidering his "fur". I do love sewing and stare at my cute little dusty sewing machine and want to create some plushies or embroidered illustrations. If only there was all the time in the world. Since I am a "fake" sewer I consider myself to be a slooow sewer as well :)
The other two:
Cranky girl
Running Bunny
These three were a part of Plush You! II (2006)
And to top off this Thursday, how about a dog wearing a tiara?
Hannah is quite the tuckered-out princess : )
p.s. Why oh why is the high 84 today!?! I have to get my fall fix by walking Hannah early so that it is still chilly and windy. How dare you, October. How dare you.
with this in hand…
New American Paintings
That cover by Michael Sieben is freaking fantastic!
And I am slowly amassing quite a collection of the usually quite affordable Taschen books.
And lastly, has anyone seen Gossip Girl? I haven't been too up on TV and haven't really seen any new shows this season (except The Office and a few others) but new new shows? I haven't seen any. But when I saw the commercials for this one I felt guilty that I wanted to see it. I haven't yet, but my friend told me last night that Kristen Bell is the narrator. And I do love Kristen Bell. So… hmmm. I didn't know if anyone had seen it and liked it.
Off to catch up on lots of good ol' e-mail : )
A big thank you to Etsy for making me the recommended blog of the week!! You can check out that and other things Etsy over on The Storque.
I thought it would be a great time to share with you a few of my favorite Etsy items and shops.
I will soon be the proud owner of this Little Robot original illustration. I have another amazing Little Robot piece that I received in the first ever online Etsy b(art)er.
Then there is NuitBlanche. I love every single quirky, lovely, creative thing in her shop.
The Guehmonsters are still my favorite (you'll see).
Another huge favorite I have mentioned before is something's hiding in here.
I bought this for myself!
I cannot wait to put it on my credenza!
Wool and Water is a paper doll genius. I own this one and came back to purchase another as a gift for a friend (that happens a lot to me with Etsy).
We recently purchased this shirt for our friend Brian's Birthday. And if I know my Loren, she would love it too.
So yeah, I love shopping on Etsy. I am going to try to hand make/thrift/Etsy my way through this holiday season. And yes, I use "Etsy" as a verb : ) And with so many of the stores that I most love, these artists/Etsy sellers seem to have found their own unique niche and products that are full of originality. I think they make the people that own them, well, just a little happier than they were before.
Now go shop!!
Happy Friday!
How is it that I went to the mall for sneakers (only sneakers) and all I came home with was this?
Potholders on clearance from Anthropologie and a Juicy Tube in Spring Fling.
No sneakers were found :( Oh well. I will have shiny lips and a cuter kitchen. Oh and those are bite sized "vanilla bean" cupcakes from Trader Joes...and they are tasty.
In other news I had to temporarily say good bye to my little one.
(she will stay like this for a loooooong time purring along with a variety of other goofy positions)
And we welcomed this sweetie:
This is one of my sister's two dogs, Hannah. We're now dogsitting her for a bit. As much as I love her, I just don't trust her unmonitored around Isadora. Maybe that's me being a bit overprotective over Izzy, but Akitas like to eat small furry things, and my kitty just happens to fit that description : )
Also, Hannah is VERY attached to that bed she's laying on and that little toy.
But it's torn and sad. I left it set up in the living room since she loves it, but over in our work area I set up this:
The softest, thickest, fuzziest blanket and this ridiculous six-legged (yup, six) octopus from Target. $2.99!!! They have it in blue for boy dogs too.
I'm happy to report the new "bed" and toy are winning!! Although she does like to mix it up. How spoiled is she? Two beds. I can say this literally… lucky dog.
The weather is nice and chilly so we're totally spoiling her with like 5 long walks a day. So, she's pretty tuckered out when she's at home.
Happy Thursday!!
