Well…we added another member to the family! It’s been 2 years since my beloved Boston Lenny passed and on a whim, we decided to adopt Frank! He just turned 10 months old today and he’s been with us for three weeks now. He seems to be fitting in rather well, considering he must have had a somewhat tough past. It took him until just this week to really warm up to me, despite his seemingly good (although scaredy cat) nature. He also just started feeling brave enough to venture throughout the whole house and is really starting to show his Boston personality! It’s so great to see him come out of his shell! We just love him to bits and we think ,despite our somewhat quick adoption..(no discussions…just go get that Boston!!:) that fate must have had a hand in it!
Technorati Tags: boston terrier, dog, puppy
November 11th, 2011 | Tags: boston terrier, dog, puppy | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
Another little happy birthday gift (from my mom…thanks ma!) was a yellow Sailor 1911 profit with a medium nib along with a bottle of iroshizuku ink in yu-yake. I love the sailor (I have one in a fine nib also). It’s a nice smooth writer, but it does have a sweet spot that I seem to lose from time to time. Not sure if this could be fixed with a little fine tuning, but I’m too chicken shit to mess with it! I’m hoping after using it a bit it’ll change. The ink, although pricey, is wonderful! It’s a beautiful fall color and just right in time for pumpkin picking, leaves falling, & brisk evenings. It has great shading and a variety of subtle colors depending on which pen I use it with. Here’s the beginning of my journal entry for today to give you an idea….
Technorati Tags: doodles, exacompta, fountain pen, iroshizuku, journal, sailor 1911
November 9th, 2011 | Tags: doodles, exacompta, fountain pen, iroshizuku, journal, sailor 1911 | Category: pens & geekery | Leave a comment
As I hunker down for a long upstate winter, I begin my yearly ritual of stockpiling pens and paper in anticipation of many months of journaling and doodling! I’ve acquired a pretty good birthday stash so far…& I’ll review everything in time, but my newest acquisition has left me in love! It’s Noodler’s flex fountain pen (in the color Arizona). It’s such a blast to doodle and draw with! I inked it up with Noodler’s bullet proof black ink and I have to say it has the feel of a dip pen without all the mess and is just really a ton of fun with minimal investment! I highly recommend it to anyone looking to experiment with a flex nib …or just to try a decent inexpensive fountain pen! I’ll definitely be looking to add a few more to my collection! I got mine (along with another Exacompta sketchbook (oh how I love thee!:) from Goulet Pens and they rock! Super customer service and fast shipping! It was my first purchase from them, but it won’t be my last!:) here’s a peek at a doodle I started for today’s journal entry:
Technorati Tags: doodles, Exacompta sketchbook, fountain pens, Noodler's flex fountain pen
November 9th, 2011 | Tags: doodles, Exacompta sketchbook, fountain pens, Noodler's flex fountain pen | Category: pens & geekery | Leave a comment
My new obsession (even though it’s rotten timing for new obsessions, but dang my feet have been hurting!) are Troentorp Bastad clogs! I bought these from an online retailer, but next pair will be directly from them as they have a multitude of fun colors to choose from! & let me tell you they are comfy! i wasn’t sure about a wooden footbed, but they are so so nice! I had to purchase two pair to really decide on the fit…and eventually opted for the larger ones in case i decide to wear them with socks when it gets cooler! so here’s to funky red clogs that certainly lifted my spirits (ah…. how some shopping will do that to ya!:) after a really crummy last few weeks!
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June 15th, 2011 | Tags: clogs, durer, shoes, troetorp bastad | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
This is Olive’s new bed, which is recycled from hubby’s old work jeans! We have been going through soooo many dog beds as of late because she keeps shredding all her beds! After glancing at the prices of dog beds in big chain stores (50 bucks!! are you kidding me??!), I decided to make one using a pattern similiar to the one I use to make reusable snack bags! At first i thought about purchasing denim, but then I realized we just purged a bunch of clothing and sent it to our rag bins! 2 pair of jeans just so happened to be in there…Score! Olive is a small dog…so I imaging you’d need a few more pair for a larger pup. I wound up using velcro for easy opening and closing, hopefully she won’t chew the ends…we’ll see! I also stuffed it with our old tshirts that were also in the bins…I figured that way she’ll have our scent in case she’s lonely when we go out…and i can juts take them out and throw them in the washer when they need cleaning! I’m hoping to make another one for the art room!
Technorati Tags: dog, dog bed, pet bed, recycled denim
March 27th, 2011 | Tags: dog, dog bed, pet bed, recycled denim | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
alrighty! i am trying…really trying to keep up with this blog…which i’m sure will get even harder as the weather gets warmer and the g-family takes on the great outdoors more frequently! the summer is always a blur here…which i’m sure it is for most folks. we’ve got back yard plans…sand boxes and playhouses to buy…all sorts of cheery stuff! i can’t wait! anywhoo…i just completed my first alpaca which was a recommendation from a long time customer of mine! i can’t believe i never thought to make one before. they’re such funky creatures they fit into the whole lil’ outsider world naturally! so here he is…his name is Auggie and he’s one silly guy! I couldn’t resist knitting him a little scarf…which is really a little joke hubby and i have had due to an episode of the pet psychic we watched years ago (by the way…i have no idea what possessed us to watch that, but we ended up laughing so hard that we still joke about it!). in the episode, she meets either an alpaca or llama…i can’t remember which…and says that it wants to be a star! …and that it wants to wear a hat and a scarf…this was all very dramatically stated (think cheesy soap opera here) as she draped the scarf around its neck…it was just too much for us to handle! we reenacted it a million times i think!
March 11th, 2011 | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
alrighty! so it’s been quite awhile since i’ve updated this thing…but i guess that tends to happen when you wind up chasing an almost one & 1/2 year old around alllllll day! not to mention, sneaking in creative time & trying to keep up with all the daily who-ha of chores,bills, & all that wonderful stuff that just makes each passing minute pass that much more quickly! I am going to try my very best to keep this thing updated, though…i swear! well…as a first matter of business i desperately need to make a new banner! gah! i’ve had those two forever….so that’s on my blog list….but in the meantime, here’s a pic of a new guy i just made….
his name is thelonious…& i even hand dyed him with kool aid! oh man, that is soooo much fun! i love the fact that now i somewhat have control over that part of the creative process! for awhile there i was pretty bummed since the 2 places i purchase mohair from have nice colors…but i like bright in your face stuff sometimes! so far this method fits the bill! i would try other methods as long as they are non-toxic. not too sure i’d rit dye as the only place i have to dye is in my own kitchen and that stuff is pretty nasty,right? anyway…i’m trying to keep up production of these guys fairly regulary, but it’s hard. some nights i just want to crawl into bed and call it a nite (which i rarely ever do!). how do these crafty mamas do it? how do they seem to balance everything? is it some sort of magic trick (i cant say those words without arrested developement’s gob bluth ringing in my ear…”it’s an illusion,micheal. a trick is something a whore does for money”!:)? i guess it’s a work in progress as the little one evolves…so do we. well..here’s to hoping i can stick to a semi-magical schedule and get my arse in gear!:)
Technorati Tags: 425sqftart, art, folk, mohair, needle felted, needle felting, outsider, plush, soft sculpture, wool
February 9th, 2011 | Tags: 425sqftart, art, folk, mohair, needle felted, needle felting, outsider, plush, soft sculpture, wool | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
ahhh..okay…i am really gonna try my best to keep this blog semi-updated! anyway…these are some new pieces i’m working on! they’re spool dolls made from some really old primitive spools that i found! i cleaned the up and made the heads from paperclay!! funfun! this is just the first 8, but i have a box of about 100…although the majority of spools are a bit smaller than these. i thought these would be a really fun way to display your favorite yarn or ribbon…or even just a way to store those misc. excess pieces! i won’t be listing in my etsy shop for a while…since i have to stock up on stuff for the sheep & wool festival in october. while it may seem right around the corner…i have limited time to create…and not to mention needle felting takes feeerrrever! ah well! let’s keep our fingers crossed i can pull it all together!:)
Technorati Tags: art, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, sculpture, spool dolls
July 26th, 2010 | Tags: art, doll, folk, outsider, paperclay, sculpture, spool dolls | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
let it be known, that i am not really a chocolate junkie….i’m more of a salty gal…chips….popcorn (i believe the little one is comprised of 50 percent popcorn & 50 percent potato!)…that sorta thing. anywho….hubby stumbled upon these chocolates (he’s got the sweet tooth fer sure!)…& i am HOOKED! HOOKED i say!!! Vosges makes all sorts of oddball chocolate bars….like bacon and chocolate (hubby’s fav!) but i am smitten with their Barcelona bar….which is a thin deep chocolate bar with hickory smoked almonds…and lots o salty goodness!!! while these bars are certainly on the pricey side (the cheapest i found was on amazon for 4 for $24!) i feel they are worth it!! especially if it takes you 3 weeks to eat a chocolate bar like it does me! no joke, the last one i had sat around here for about that long…every other nite or so i just broke off a chunk and let it melt in my mouth (of course i had to fend off hubby who proceeded to ask me every other night, “do you know you have a chocolate bar,here?”…he does that whenever there is some sort of foodstuff that i am not getting around to eating quick enough and he’s eyeballing it!….he especially loves to do this with those little pints of ice cream!)anyway, that seemed to help any weird little craving i got! (now mind you, don’t leave a bag of chips laying around this house…i’ll have them consumed in 2 seconds!!) so, if you’re in the mood for some chocolatey goodness that’s a bit different…give this chocolate a test drive! you won’t be disappointed!
on another note: here’s a pic of the weird little mini painting/collage i did the other night:
it’s comprised of some carbothello’s, acrylic paint,doodle (with a fountain pen & noodler’s ink no less!) on watercolor paper, colored in with those sai brush pens i wrote about last entry! i have a few more in the works also….just need to varnish it (like all my other art work i havent gotten around to!) and it’s set! also…now that you’ve gotten to the end of this post…i apologize for my super crummy pics…all i have time for is pics with the iphone…..as it is now, the little one just woke up from her 15 minute nap….yes folks! that’s correct! a big whooping 15 minute nap! pity me now!
Technorati Tags: candy bar, chocolate bar, collage, outsider art, painting, vosges
April 1st, 2010 | Tags: candy bar, chocolate bar, collage, outsider art, painting, vosges | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
okay, i am still alive….really! i’ve just been really super busy with the little one, but am going to give the blog a good old honest effort to maintain! we’re just trying to get down some sort of nap schedule down (which has been loads of fun!) so that she can get some much needed rest…& i can actually get a few minutes to breathe! she’s been on this 30 minute nap kick (if i’m lucky!)….that she can’t break…even tho’ she’s obviously tired upon waking! for the past 2 days we had an afternoon nap of over an hour…so hopefully things will change! anywhoot…with limited time on my hands…& the much needed time to crafty…i found a new passion that has been kindling for quite some time! fountain pens and paper! oh yeah! i’ve acquired quite the mass o’ fountain pens over the past few months…along with journals of all sorts! in the pic below are my current fav’s:
a namiki falcon fine nib, a sailor sapporo fine nib (seems like an extra fine tho’!), sai watercolor brush pens…and my all time favorite…”where have you been all my life??”…the exacompta sketchbook!! i absolutely love these sketchbooks! they’re awesome for almost any type of media….although i probably wouldn’t do more than a light wash! so at least i’ve been doodling and writing just about everyday…which is necessary for my pineapple gland to function properly! something quasi-creative must be done daily or else i’ll loose my noodle! i’m also starting a few mini paintings/collages to help ease the cat-craziness! anywhoot…i strongly advise procuring all these items stat!!! here’s where i found ‘em!:
namiki falcon: (a got a great deal on it!) pam at oscar braun
sailor sapporo: ebay from seller engeika
sai watercolor brush pens: jetpens
exacompta sketchbook: writers bloc
now go…run!!!
Technorati Tags: doodles, exacompta, fountain pens, namiki falcon, sailor sapporo
March 31st, 2010 | Tags: doodles, exacompta, fountain pens, namiki falcon, sailor sapporo | Category: Outsiders | Leave a comment
