Sunday, December 30, 2007

on to the new year

Christmas was nice and went too fast. I wish I could have spent more time with each member of my family. We often have theme Christmases and this year the theme was the 60's. Some of us dressed up (I wore a vintage psychedelic mu mu and looked a bit like Mama Cass!), we ate vintage food like fondue, deviled eggs and chex mix, played the gift game with presents from the 60's and watched a family slide show from the 60's. Here is a neat pic from the slide show of a family Christmas, probably before my time.





My father made that cabinet/shelf thing the TV is in. Pretty neat idea, I think.






Here is a Christmas tree from a couple years later. My father would flock them in the driveway. I like this one because it shows the relentless sunny Christmas weather of Southern California through the living room window.




This Christmas we had snow in Portland. It was the first time there has been more than 1" of snow in Portland on Christmas day since 1937. By the time we left my parents house it was almost all gone. Here is a shot of my parents backyard from that afternoon.


I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!

This week I will be posting some new printed items in the shop!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Friday, December 21, 2007

Almost Christmas

It is hard to believe that Christmas is so soon. Every year I feel like I don't get enought time to enjoy the season, to do Christmasy things. I wish there were two more months between October and Christmas. (I would gladly give up July and August.) This year my gift buying was almost done by Thanksgiving and I yet I still had a long list of things to do.

I decorated my place slowly the last couple of weeks. There are a couple of pictures here. I am hoping to take more before it all comes down. Every year around this time I start craving the days when I can put stuff away, when I will have the time to clean and declutter. I also really find myself drawn to white and silver. It is the color of the new year. Last year I made a New Years tree. I really liked it and I hope to do one this year, but I may just want to take it all down asap.

A New Years tree is my own invention. I take off all the ornaments and colored lights and put on only silver and white ornaments and little white lights. It looks so fresh and nice and it is a nice way to enjoy the tree a little longer without having all the red and green christmassy stuff around. (I got all my silver and white decorations 75% off after Christmas)

I have found myself leaning toward white things lately. Here are two neat things that I saw recently.

On the blog Happy Mundane, Jon took some old ornaments and spray painted them with a white metal primer. The result was really neat. They look like they could be poreclain:
















Have you tried the new Etsy feature Pounce yet? Holy mackerel, is that addictive! You get to see all the things that have most recently sold. Through Pounce today I saw these neat vases. I am very drawn to them. They kind of look like the white painted brick in my apartment.















Hope your Christmas is shaping up nicely!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

role playing

How great are these finger puppets? In case you are not sure the answer is super great. These are the perfect gift for a serious fan. The Etsy shop has Harold and Maude, the Royal Tannenbaums and Rushmore!



and she even captured one of my top favorite lines in the film:


















There was a time when I could totally could have done all the lines from Rushmore with these finger puppets.

To come clean, the movie finger puppets I would actually get the most out of?

Anne of Green Gables
The Goodbye Girl
White Christmas (and they would be singing!)
It's a Wonderful Life

But, I could make a pretty good showing with The Wes Anderson Film finger puppets. This is the kind of thing I wish I would have thought of. But, really abbeychristine does a better job of it than I would.

What about you? Which finger puppets would get the most action at your house?

Monday, December 10, 2007

no one ever heard of a skinny santa

There is yet another ridiculous campaign from the fat haters out there that says Santa should no longer be fat. Along with the Pillsbury Doughboy's slimmer body and the push for the Cookie Monster to eat more vegetables, this is yet another bucketful of stupidity.

Thankfully, some smart people got together to make a stink about it and get some good done as well! This is some great activism!

If you believe Santa belongs on a sleigh instead of a stairmaster, sign the petition. Your support will do more than Keep Santa Fat. For every signature, DVA Advertising and Public Relations will donate a pound of food to America’s Second Harvest to help feed the hungry in our communities. And DVA will keep donating until we reach 50,000 pounds of food. Help feed the cause on behalf of the North Pole’s finest.

HELP SANTA STAY FAT!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

napkin sets

I just added some screen printed napkin sets to the shop. Hopefully more screen printed things to come before Christmas!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

the merry christmas wreath

Have you put up your Holiday Decorations yet? I am seeing lots of neat decorations on blogs and I haven't even really thought about doing mine yet.

These however have really inspired me. They are so beautiful and have excited me to make my own version, maybe during the quiet months of January or February. I know I won't be able to make it look as good, but I want to try.

These are from Constant Gatherers Etsy store.





It is a good reason to buy neat yarns. I don't knit, so I never have need to buy yarn, but there are always such beautiful handmade yarns on Etsy. Like these from hobbledehoy:



This weekend I should be able to put the printed tree napkins in the shop!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

printing

I printed some napkins today. It was fun to gocco again. I really like the way they look. These will be in the shop later in the week. If you can't tell from the side, the image is of trees.

Figure 8 #3 review

I got a new review on Feminist Review for Figure 8, this one for issue number 3.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

we are santas elves

The shop has been busy for me and every night I have been going home to wrap up packages or make /post new items. Last night I posted a few one-of-a-kind left over blank notebooks. I will be doing more magnets soon. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to work on some gocco printing.

How is your crafting/christmas shopping going? I am almost done, but there are a few projects I have to do once the shopping is done. Usually I buy a lot of my gifts at the crafts fairs, but this year it was almost exclusively Etsy and Amazon and things I had collected through the years. In fact I don't even know if I will get to one, since I won't be selling at one this year.

If you are looking for some neat wintery art prints to give this year The Tiny Showcase just offered up a set of four that you can buy individually or all together. Their stuff usually goes pretty fast, so check it out if you are interested.


Wednesday, November 14, 2007

portraits

Yesterday I was on the front page of Etsy for a couple hours. It wasn't long but it was sweet. The first time I have been featured. It resulted in a small flurry of sales, so last night I worked on more magnet sets. You will find new French Vocab Magnet sets in the shop now.

You know, I usually stay away from portraits of people. I don't know why, but I prefer to have animals or plants or vague images of people in the art I look at. Sometimes, putting a cute kid or a pretty retro woman from the Fifties on something just seems too easy. It bothers me, too, because often these female images that are used are typical thin conventionally beautiful women. Why would I want my home covered with images of those women. I mean there is nothing wrong with them, but if all I see are images of women who don't look like me, why wouldn't this affect me negatively at some point. I prefer animals, fat folks or ideally - fat animals.

With that said, I have to admit these two prints got my serious attention lately. Sure, they aren't a huge leap from what I usually like, but they aren't woodland animals. ;-7

From Matte Stephens



I really love this one from Christopher David Ryan

Monday, November 12, 2007

Feminist Review reviews Figure 8

The newest Figure 8 was reviewed by Feminist Review recently. It is a mostly favorable review. However, she mentions my many typros in the zine and hopes that any new issues will be better in this regard.

It is true. I have a problem. And I am ready to admit it.

I try to edit it as best I can, I ask friends to help and I am sure those articles are the ones that are not as bad. However my own dyslexia, poor skills and deadline crunching comes into play with all my zines and I am afraid decent editing loses. I am almost always hurrying to finish up an an issue for an event, usually the Portland Zine Symposium. I apologize for the typos and when I reprint the new issue I will go over it all again and try to clean it up.

If you have come to this page from the Feminist Review, Hello to you. And please forgive my shortcomings. I hope you can look past them and find some chub love in Figure 8.


Sunday, November 11, 2007

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

back from the woods

My trip to Leavenworth and the lake nearby was awesome. You can see some pictures on my other blog. I will be posting more as the week goes by.

Leavenworth is a Bavarian town and the Bavarian styles and motifs are all of woodland creatures and trees and mountains. It is all right up my alley, but also incredibly trendy these days as well. Lots of places had bears, owls, antelopes, squirrels and trees on the walls, signs, and everywhere! It was pretty cute.

Squirrels, pine cones and acorns have always been something I have collected. They were popular motifs in the 4o's and I have always liked them and have quite a bit of these designs in my home. Now, suddenly they are all over the place, especially the squirrels. I am sad to find that I am getting a little over the little guys as a design motif.

Foxes seem to be getting more and more popular. I like them too (especially since many of my boyfriend's nicknames for me are different versions of fox). But, as they get more and more popular I am afraid I will become a little jaded about them too.


















Here are some recent ones I have noticed and liked. (teresebast, magicjelly, tarahogen)

I have been noticing for some time that I am attracted to ship motifs. They seem to be showing up more now, too.




















From twoguitar

I don't know why, but I have always been hyper aware of these kinds of trends. Maybe my overload of these things is really just that I am looking at Etsy too much. Could that be it? ;-7

Monday, October 15, 2007

lake house vacation

On Saturday I am going on a much longed for lake house vacation. Wednesday is the 4 year anniversary for my Boyfriend and me. I have been looking forward to this week for sometime.

Today I woke up with a sore throat and I feel like a crap sandwich. This is really bumming me out.

I am going to feed myself vegetarian Tom Kha soup and Airborne and hopefully get over it soon.

I am even going to attempt to work from home this week, because I am near the end of the biggest project I have even done at work. Yeah, this is great timing.

Anyway, in case I don't make it to these pages again before I go, I just want to tell you I will be out for a while, visiting apple orchards, sitting by the lake and eating German pastries!

We are going to a lake cabin near the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington

This is the dock to the lake in the back of our rental house. I can't wait! The fall colors are going to be so gorgeous, too!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

French Lessons

I added some magnets to the shop tonight. More to follow.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

kid crafts

Well, looks like I finally got the feed to work and you live journal subscribers just got a whole slew of them. Sorry about that. I am glad it seems to finally be working!

I so want to get to crafting, but things keep getting in the way. I will probably start printing when I get back from vacation, which is the week after next. But, before then I am hoping to get some new magnet sets up!

I love buying things from kids when they are being all entrepreneurial and stuff. At the Stumptown Comicfest a couple weeks ago I got some drawings from this kid for a dollar each. His table was a mass of drawings, all with the erased lines showing and stuff. They are great. A couple years ago I got some comic zines from another kid at the zine symposium. (If i were really together I would have them all scanned and ready to go for this entry, but I am writing this on my lunch break and I am just not that together!)

Last night I got a pocket fairy in the mail from this 8 year old girl, Libby, who sells on Etsy. They are all different, with different names and they all have secret superpower you find out when you get yours in the mail! Of course I had to get one. Here is my pocket fairy:



Her name is Morning Dew and her secret power is........*contentment*

The best!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

a few new postings

I just got some new fat posi buttons



And added some things to The Cedar Chest. I really like the way this picture turned out.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Top Ten Indie Favorites

I did the Top Ten Indie Pixx on Indie Fixx and it was posted today. Go check out my favorites!











And if you came here from Indie Fixx, Hi there! Please take a look around.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

October Sampler

I will have zines in the October Sampler, which means....I will get one! I am so excited. I always love the pics they take of the stuff I send the The Sampler. They do such a nice job.


Tuesday, October 2, 2007

A new Etsy Store

I have been working for over a week to create this new Etsy shop of mine, where I will sell off vintage items, ephemera and craft supplies from my own collection. I feel like it is finally stocked enough to let you know about it. There is SO much more to add. Here is some of what is in stock now:

Thursday, September 27, 2007

harvest moon

I am so ready to start the fall crafting! If I could only get the time. This full-time working business is for the bees! But, soon, very soon I am going to start goccoing some more pillowcases and papers and all kinds of things. I also want to do some sewing, work on a zine and start selling some of my stuff online. I am starting an Etsy store just to sell my vintage items, ephemera, photos and craft supplies. That should be open soon. I have spent so many years collecting this stuff and now I will be spending so many years passing it on!

Did you see the moon last night? It was the Harvest Moon and people used to harvest by the light of it. It sure was like a big old spotlight last night. It was beautiful.

I sold some things at the Twilight Rummage sale last weekend. That was good. I also picked a few goodies of course! 1o things out, 3 things in. Although I am ready to let go of whole collections of stuff right now (like my Beat Generation library)I don't think I will ever be tired of old photos and ephemera. I am so sentimental!

I got this old photo of a dollhouse on Ebay today. It is coming all the way from Germany! I thought I could use it for the new current resident zine. Isn't it awesome!


What fall things are you looking forward to most?

Monday, September 24, 2007

neat





You can use flicker photos to spell out anything. Check it out here.

Too bad I couldn't just post the html in here. Blogger put them all in a stack! What is the deal with Bloggers image upload. It is always a pain in the ass and I can never get the text to do what I want. Wish I would have gone with Wordpress. Let me know if you have any tips.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

hello fall

I am not a knitter. I don't think I would be good at it, but even if I were, I do not need another craft project! However, this yarn from paintedtiger makes me want to be one:

















I am ready for fall. The days have gotten darker and cooler and I am looking forward to some rain and crisp air. Tonight is the last farmers market of the season. I am sorry to see that end, it is a part of summer I am sad to see go, but I like what comes in it's place. Last week the farmers market was so different than when I had last gone just a couple weeks earlier. There were way less people, less vendors, it was not bright and sunny and the bins were full of apples and corn and squash.

Yay for fall! I even look on Etsy for fall themed things! Aren't these nice tags from amyliz's shop


















I have always liked pinecones and acorns.

















Well, off to the market. Hope you have a nice weekend!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

more log-ins, please

I think I have a problem. I am always fighting the desire to start more blogs, Etsy stores and general on-line community accounts. Luckily, I do not have the time to do all of the ones I want, but I am a total sucker for it. Case in point, the Twitter account I started and seldom post to, you can see it off to the right and down. I do like that I can post sometimes from my phone, but I am not sure who I am even posting to! But, give me the chance and I will probably sign up for it.

That is why it is amazing that it took till now, late 2007, for me to make a myspace account for PonyBoy Press. I don't know why, I some rebellious streak in me. I have never really liked how my space is designed. I preferred Friendster, but the people have spoken, so I have added my voice to the crowd. Plus, although it is hard for me to believe, some people don't read blogs and aren't on Livejournal! So, if you are on myspace, please add me, I would be ever so happy.

The other thing I will probably break down and do soon is start an Etsy store to sell off my vintage stuff/ephemera and craft supplies. I sell them on my site, now, but it makes it seem like such a hodge podge. I have so much vintage photos and ephemera and generally cool old stuff I bought and haven't done anything with yet, so I think that is next on the list. I like seeing that stuff on Etsy, too. Here are some nice choices:

Beautiful old-style glitter (mica!) and vintage french party favor cones from littlepinkstudio









Some great old photos and buttons from Rustirelics

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Figure 8 Fat Pack!

Now in the shop! Figure 8 pack of all 5 zines and a couple buttons for your body revolution pleasure.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

some sad things, some good things

I am getting ready to leave town for a while. My father's widow sold the house and I need to go pick up his film equipment as she has no room. Not sure what I will do with it and it seems so early to have this stuff. Not just becasue he died only a few months ago, but also because of course, I shouldn't be inheriting this stuff for at least ten years. That was the way it was supposed to be.
It will be nice to see his place and his town and it will be hard too.

Anyway, I don't want to leave you with a sad post, so I thought this would be a good time to mention some of my tried and true Etsy merchants.

I will be taking Summersea's flower essenses with me on this trip.





















I have a few of these and although I cannot say I am an absolute believer in flower essences, I like having the option. When things feel helpless, like you are too emotional, lacking inspiration or too scattered brained, you can use these lovingly created essenses and at least you feel like you are doing something for the situation. I like that feeling. Plus you can just tell Summersea loves making her herbal concoctions and that energy comes through.

I just recently got a couple new little creatures from Craftpaca, including a bear that looks a lot like this.
I love her creations, sweet little animals, they are adorable and inexpensive. I have a few myself, but I also buy groups of owls or hedgehogs and give them away, including them in mail order or birthday packages. She makes you whatever you want, too, so if you don't see the color you want, just ask.

On Sunday I finally put up some of my wall decals I got from One Up designs . I don't have a pic yet, this is theirs. They were pretty easy to put up and they look great. I want to get more decals! I just with I had more walls!







Well, I hope you all have a good week and a nice Labor Day.

Friday, August 24, 2007

New Cards

I don't really have a name for this card set yet. They are vintage fortune telling cards from the Forties. These images seem so passionate, so strong. They seem to me perfect for the best friends and loves. Any ideas for a title?

I have them up now in the shop! They are sold as singles or in the set of four.


Monday, August 20, 2007

to the post office

Last night I drove out to the post office by the airport so I could post all the packages. Of course I stopped by Ikea too. Man, Sunday night at Ikea is depressing. Half the stuff I was looking for was sold out.

Anyway, I am glad to say that all the orders from this week are on their way to you. Thanks to everyone for ordering! Here is a not so great phone picture of the happy little packages.


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