we feel fine book winner...

three cheers to the winner of our we feel fine book giveaway, mr. brian sikorski of wonderful time photography! it seems random.org wanted to see his flaming middle finger just as much as we did, and brian was nice enough to oblige with a photo!

still bummed you didn't win? it's ok, you can still order a copy!

behind the artwork: the fruit and nuts series

in light of our recent feature on regretsy, i'd love to share exactly where that strange little fruit and nuts series of paintings came from. step in the way back machine with us, back to 2004!

ah, 2004 - what a good year. i had been laid off from oshkosh bgosh, was homeless on my sister's couch in garden grove for a while, met the future husband... and started getting into art shows.

the very first art show i did was a group show at chango coffee house in echo park. it was a simple piece called "apple takes a stroll". a little 5" x 5" acrylic painting featuring a super happy apple with stick arms and legs walkin through a park.

after the show, my good friend angela bought the painting and made the comment "this is so cute - i really wanna see apple in a knife fight with robert downey, jr!" it was like a burst of comic genius that really got my wheels turning. coincidentally, that same week i had bought a trashy tabloid mag. i was flipping through it, and... well...

i didn't see any good pictures of robert downey, jr. but i DID see a great picture of will ferrell.



that just started an avalanche of wackiness. i flipped through a bunch of tabloid magazines, found some great celeb faces, and collaged them into twelve new paintings featuring that original Apple character along with his friends Orange, Peach, Grapes and more. They were quirky and fun, and within a year every one of the original paintings sold. The most exciting sale came at a Pasedena craft show, where the customer informed me that she worked with courtney cox-arquette on the show dirt, and the next week's filming was going to be directed by david arquette. so she bought the painting as a gift for them!



i ran into that same customer at another craft show a year later - she gave me a great update on my little painting, that the cox-arquette family loved the painting, and that their daughter coco smiled and laughed whenever she saw it. another satisfied customer!



etsy's shown some love for this series, too! they featured the martha piece in a storque post, and also commissioned me to create two new pieces in that stick figurey style to hang outside their conference room doors this past november.

and that's the story! they're a little strange, they're a little nutty, but they're a whole lot of fun and i love em - i hope you do too!

hearts and laserbeams on tv! WHAT!!?!?!

as you may or may not know, if you're ever in georgia you can pop into shopScad (in both savannah and atlanta!) and pick up hearts and laserbeams gifties in person.

amy from shopscad shared a video on facebook today of a news bit that was filmed in the atlanta shopscad, and i am alllll over it! how exciting! as you watch it, keep an eye out for our plate designs, glue gun tee, and in the background of one shot you can see our tiny magnet set tins!

click here to watch the video.

we feel fine book update!

OMG guys! so in case you didn't know, a photo i posted on this very blog is getting published in the upcoming book "we feel fine: an almanac of human emotion".



you can read the whole story about how this happened by clicking here!

and you can read the original blog post they found my photo in here.

you can check out the preview of the book by clicking here, and can preorder a copy here.

i'm just a chock full of superexcited links! hooray!!!

new garden pics and uhhh... we got chickens!

ok so some major updates in our backyard:



our carrots got harvested last weekend! they definitely could have stayed in the ground longer, but we figured they wouldn't get much longer since our planters are so shallow. so we'll save carrots for another time (or big deep pots next year!), but these little guys were totally tasty!



and our sugar snap peas have started kickin out some peas - they're so freaking good! it's kinda crazy how tall these plants have gotten. we're thinkin about planting some more so we can have peas to share with friends or freeze or something like that.

but the biggest news in our backyard last weekend was...



WE TOTALLY GOT CHICKENS!

the one on the left is martha stewart. an easter egger type chicken, she'll in theory lay eggs that are blue, green, pink or brown. it's a good thing. the one on the right is paula deen - they said she was a silkie but we're not so sure, we're thinking she may be a hybrid of some kind.

and yes. we named em that because they're the dirtiest birds around! if we'd gotten a third it woulda been named oprah.

they're old enough to be laying eggs, but nothing yet. we read they'll most likely start molting because of the new home and then start again when they're done molting, so we'll see what happens! they're super cute, we've let em run around the backyard and they are crazy wily when it comes to trying to get em back in the coop!

check out the full flickr set here, including pics of the sweet chicken coop josh's uncle donnie helped us build!

fight for your right to carbs!

josh decided the other day he was going to start making ribbons out of spaghetti noodles to sell on etsy - to raise carb awareness!

he works hard for the money...

here we see my fabulous huzzz hard at work in the hearts and laserbeams sweat shop! we're sending a box full of tees to shopScad today; if you're in the low country you besss get in that shop later this week and pick one up! shopscad features work by students, alumni and faculty of the savannah college of art and design, and is located at 340 bull street in historic downtown savannah.

not fortunate enough to live in the south? don't fret my pet, our tees are also available online!

all kinds of fun news!

i am chock full of art news today!

yesterday i found out that my art school savannah college of art and design was looking for people that went there to contribute paintings for an upcoming project. so i email the gent, and send him to the paintings section of my etsy shop. he wrote back telling me that my flipping bird painting would be perfect and could i get it out to new york by next tuesday?



um, yes please thank you! even more so when i asked for more details about the project. apparently, scad's working on revamping studio 54 and will be styling a dressing room for an upcoming carrie fisher 1 woman show. and my painting will be in her dressing room.

my painting.

will be in her dressing room.

carrie fisher.

there's talk that hgtv will be covering this project and that us weekly, usa today and other press outlets have made inquiries, and that is awesome. but i'm completely bowled over by it being for CARRIE EFFING FISHER!!!

want a little piece of hearts and laserbeams history? prints of this painting are available!



in other exciting news, my candy corn party fabric design is part of this week's spoonflower halloween contest - i am currently getting my butt kicked by another cute design so please PLEASE consider a vote for hearts and laserbeams! if i win there'll be a great big sale to celebrate!

gardening with the calverts: month 1

ok so about a month ago, josh and i started a little veggie patch in our backyard using the book square foot gardening by mel bartholemew as a guide for our gardening shenanigans.

here's what it looked like when we first built the planter and got the dirt and seeds into it:



and here's what it looks like now:


(these are just the radishes - check out everything else by clickin' the pic!)

josh and i had a tiny balcony garden for like 2 years before this, and expanding the operation now that we have a little more space has been so fun! we're both pretty effing amazed at how crazy some of this stuff is growing; in theory soon we'll have watermelons, peas, pumpkins, corn, radishes, chives, tomatoes, carrots... i think it all kind of depends on the weather - we started all this pretty late in the summer but the growing season in california's longer, so who knows! (we got to eat a few spinach leaves the other night, so freakin delicious!)

we also started a compost bin in the backyard, which both of us are a little unsure of - mostly because neither one of us has done that before, so there's a whole lot of "uhhh are we doing this right?" goin' on... we put this little vinyl fence up for like 60 bucks to hide the composting experiment:


(if you click to see the larger version of this pic in flickr, and you look at the telephone wires, you can see some of the zillions of birds waiting for me to go inside so they can get back to the bird feeder...)

so we'll see how that goes! we added worms to the bin tonight... the gal that we bought em from basically made us smell worm poo, she says to prove that it smells like dirt, but i think it was so she could tell her friends later she got people to smell worm poo.

i feel like i need to get a better handle on timing out what we're planting... what are good fall/winter veggies? anyone got any hot tips for what to plant and when in southern california?

as seen on oc weekly!

ok i was doing really well on posting for a little bit and then i fell off the wagon... life has been crazy!

part of the excitement is i've become a brand new blog contributer for the oc weekly! so if you get frustrated with coming here and not seeing freshness to read, you should make sure to check out the gettin' made feature on oc weekly. there's a tag to click on, even, to make it super easy!

AND - if you check out the inaugural post soon you can enter to win a free hearts and laserbeams print! good luck folks!

OH DUDE! ALSO!
renegade craft fair is this weekend! you better get there and come visit us or else!

brand new paintings!

today was such a fun day! i spent a bunch of time working on five new 3" x 3" paintings for the upcoming arthouse coop canvas project group show. the goal for the project was to create a sort of visual encyclopedia - each participating artist gets five random words to paint and that is that! here's the words i was assigned:

"carcinogen"
3" x 3" acrylic on canvas

"cotton"
3" x 3" acrylic on canvas

"equator"
3" x 3" acrylic on canvas

"larynx"
3" x 3" acrylic on canvas

"zebra"
3" x 3" acrylic on canvas

it was so nice out today i set up a folding table in the backyard and did my painting out there, and the group of three little birds that are always visiting our bird feeder kept me company all morning!

i also spent a ton of time yesterday and today working on new screenprinting screens, i'll share the finished products with ya soon! (wanna be the first kid on your block with a brand new hearts and laserbeams grocery tote? better get your ass to renegade craft fair on july 11 and 12!)

makin rosettes and say, what kind of tree is that?

ok so today i was planning on making ice cream for the first time ever! got all my supplies together to make a delicious cherry garcia style ice cream, spent a good long while cutting and pitting cherries, cooked em up in the sugar water, went to read next steps and the instructions on the ice cream maker and whaaaaaaaaaaaaa?



you have to freeze part of if first?



denied!!!



so i decided to make rosettes with josh instead! if you click on the picture, you'll go to the entire photo set on flickr...







and if you click on the below picture you can watch a video of how the batter flowers once it hits the hot oil!







once the rosettes are done you just sprinkle em with a little powdered sugar and enjoy! they're an old-timey scandinavian dessert, a little funnelcakey, a little donutty, a lot deliciousy!



also, for you sleuths and plant experts out there - we have this tree in our backyard and have no idea what it is. any thoughts? it's got serrated leaves and a pit in the middle of the small fruit.

that voodoo that yudu so well - part 1, how i learned to stop worrying and love the yudu

ok i'm really bummed that i JUST found my camera that's been missing for a week or more - i wanted to photodocument getting to know my yudu better! it was gonna be perfect... photos of us taking long walks on the beach, romantic candlelit dinners, canoodling at the movies - but instead you get just boring old stupid words!

except sometimes my words have been known to be at least a little entertaining.

but still. the plans i had for the pictures.

ugh. i'm buildig a bridge and getting over it!

so as i mentioned before, my superawesome amazing faboo rad honkytonk husband josh surprised me (us, we're sharing it, i keep forgetting that!) with one of those spanky new fancy yudu machines a couple of weeks ago! and i was so busy getting ready for Unique LA and workin on freelance projects on top of freelance projects that i juuuuuust got to crack that baby open last night!

i have to tell you that i've done the regular way of screenprinting before, and i was a tiny bit skeptical the first time i saw a yudu. it's by the same people that brought you the cricut, which is great for scrapbookers but not so much for people that wanna make their own die cut designs... i don't wanna be rude but my first impression was i kinda thought that it would be a very lowest common denominator type thing that would make low quality stuff for folks who just don't wanna be bothered with learning how to really screenprint. then i saw the yudu display at michaels, and started reading labels and kinda learning more about it, and had to tell josh very sheepishly "uh hey i know when you mentioned it i said it was dumb, but, uh, i kind of really super want a yudu. like really bad. so uh... sorry, and my birthday's coming up in july hint hint"...

and he ended up buying it early thank god! so far i am a total screenprinting convert and i'll tell you why:

1) shit on the yudu is all the same steps as traditional screenprinting but easier (once you get the hang of it). there's still emulsion and darkroom scenarios, but it's less time consuming!

2)if you mess up on burning a screen, it doesn't take a crapload of work and scrubbing to reclaim your screen - it takes like a minute. in your kitchen sink. while you hum to yourself. i have old-school wood frame screenprinting screens that haven't turned out right (from like YEARS ago) that i still haven't reclaimed because it's a huge pain in the ass!

3) as far as i can tell so far, the quality of the actual screens and supplies isn't inferior to old-school screenprinting. they say don't use any other inks but yudu inks, but i did find a website that tested using riso inks (like for the gocco) on the yudu screens and it worked fine. and they're cheaper. i'll be testing using the speedball fabric screenprinting ink i normally use in the future, will letcha know how that goes!

if you've never seen a yudu before totally check out the demo from handmade detroit, it's a good one!

so here's how burning the screens for the first time worked out for me: i burned some screens after watching the demo video and following yudu's specific directions and none of those screens turned out right. i reclaimed the same screen like 3 or 4 times. and then i got tired. later i came back to it, tried a few different things, and EVERY screen came out effing perfect.

so without further ado, here's my tutorial tips on how to prepare the perfect yudu screenprinting screen for exposing!

1) mood lighting: keep your lights dim the entire time so you don't forget what you're doing and ruin your emulsion sheet! i wrecked one by going into the kitchen to get something and flipping on a light - FAIL!

2)wet it and forget it: forget about the "dont get the screen too wet" part of yudu's instructions. i ran my screen under the kitchen faucet from the front and reverse side. then i wipe off the extra drippy water from the metal screen edges.

3) lay it on me sistahpants! so now (IN YOUR DIMLY LIT ROOM!!! NO DIRECT LIGHTING!) take your emulsion sheet and peel the plastic sheet off the side that comes off easy - then put it sticky side down on the back of your screen (the flat side), being careful to center it as you lay it down. (can't tell which is the sticky side? lick your finger and touch a corner, you'll figure it out real quick!) run your squeegee down it lengthwise, and then widthwise making sure to press out all the air bubbles.

then comes my special trick to make sure it's wet enough - holding it in your hand, look at the screen from the opposite side. lightly lightly spray that other side a couple of times with a water bottle, and run your squeegee once lengthwise along the screen. (from that side you just sprayed).

at this point, the green emulsion should look really even on both sides. if you've got any areas that look splotchy (they call it spiderwebby) you're not going to have a good end result. it should look really good and clean and even after doing my special trick. if not, try misting it again from that reverse side.

note: if your emulsion looks effed up before you dry it and expose it, you will end up with a bad screen. best to try again with a fresh sheet instead of going through the whole process to find out later it didn't turn out how you wanted it.

also note: drying time for my techniques is significantly longer than following yudu's instructions to the letter, but the results have been great every time.

also also note: your mom called and told me you're out of the family. sorry!

so the rest of it is business as usual following yudu's instructons:

4)dry that shit! after your emulsion looks lovely, put that screen in the drying rack and run the fan on it! using my method with more wetness involved, i think i averaged three to four 20-minute dry cycles before the screen was dry enough for exposing. you'll know when it's dry enough when it looks really even (and not wet at all) on both sides. test it by picking the plastic backing off the emulsion in a corner and peeling a tiny bit of it off. if it comes off really easy you're done! if it doesn't DON'T FORCE IT! put that thing back in the dryer and let it dry!

5) picture perfect pictures! ok one thing i tried from my old-school screenprinting techniques is i ran outta yudu transparencies, so i used vellum instead to print my image on. and i don't know if it was because that was a screen i did at like 2am and i think i messed up a bunch of things or what, but the vellum did NOT work at all. so don't do it! i do really like the yudu brand transparencies - they have a little bit of a tooth to em, so the images don't get all smeary when they come outta my inkjet printer.

from that point on i did pretty much everything to yudu's specifications - exposed the image for 9 minutes instead of 8 cuz i like to go the extra mile just to be sure, rinsed out the screen with cold water, and every one i've done since i started following these techniques has come out AWESOME.

oh wait one more thing. when you're done burning your screen and you've rinsed the unexposed green gunk out, i don't think it's necessary to use the yudu's fan for drying it. if you've got the time just blot off the excess water and set it up against a wall for a bit to dry. if you don't got the time hairdryer that shit!

another exciting thing i wanna share about the yudu is that i have a graphic i designed like 4 years ago that i've tried burning to screens the old fashioned way like 4 or 5 times with zero success because the line work was a little fine and frankly i'm not the best screen-burner in town. but following the above techniques i was FINALLLY able to get a clean burn of that image onto the screen and i am really effing excited about that! because it's pure comedy and it makes me chuckle!

so anyways, that's it for tonight - i'll be testing out the printing tomorrow, and like i said i found my camera so expect to see pics of the screens i burned and the printing process! pow!

pics of dao's art show!

last night gayle and i drove down to laguna beach (which thanks to roller derby i cannot say without pronouncing it laguna beeyatch in my brain) to see our friend dao's pieces in an art show!

her pieces were really cool - kinetic art and more modern stuff generally doesn't hold my attention long but this stuff was neat because it actually had story and a point behind it, rather than "hey i was fuckin around with some stuff and made this thing waddaya think?"



this one was really great - she strung together TONS of led lights and programmed them to re-create a photo of her father. when the lights in the room were out it looked like this, and when the lights in the room came back on the leds changed so that he was still recognizeable.

it's weird how my own art is just meant to be fun and fucking around and not too deep, but i want stories and pertinance in kinetic art... need to just let go and enjoy it i guess!

anyways, moral of the story is i really liked dao's stuff, and if you have a chance you should check it out while it's there:

skin deep
dao nguyen and richard hutter
march 17 - april 25
235 forest ave
laguna beach, ca 92651
(949) 497-1880

la zoo pics!

ok i feel like i have about 20 billion things i'm working on simultaneously today, but i wanted to share some pics with you! josh and i went to the l.a. zoo last tuesday, and it turns out that when it's like 70 degrees and a weekday that's the best time for the zoo! it's not busy and all of the animals are out and it's totally sweet! click on the giraffe and take a look at all our rad pics - more blogging later today on a really cool art show gayle and i went to last night!

coming soon! crafty hearts and laserbeams workshops!

i worked like gangbusters last week to get together some proposals for craft classes i'd love to teach - it was really fun to have a few days where i did nothing but paint, sew, glitter and glue!

the great news is after meeting with the kids are alright here in long beach, i've got 3 workshops lined up for the upcoming months! better pics will be coming in the near future, but let me share these dates so you can mark your calendar!

on wednesday, april 22 (that's earth day!) from 5-9pm i'll be leading a painted flowerpots workshop and having a trunk show of my newest fun paper goods and housewares! so come paint some flowerpots (they make great mothers day presents!) with us and bring the kids - this project's great for all ages! it'll be $12 per painted pot to participate, which includes all needed materials and a packet of seeds for planting!

on thursday, may 28 from 6-9pm i'll be leading a painted wine glasses workshop, complete with boozey goodness for participants! this workshop will be $30 per person, which includes all materials needed to paint two wine glasses, wine for drinking, and guarunteed good times! (21 and over for this event please!)

on sunday, june 14 from 2-5pm i'll be leading a handcarved stamp workshop! learn how to make your own stamps with a woodcut flair and make some notecards with your creations! this project would be perfect for making a special father's day card and with supervision can be a great project for kids! (adult supervision required since sharp cutting tools will be used.) this workshop will be $30 per person, which includes all materials needed to carve some rad stamps! (cutting tools can be purchased at end of class for an additional $10)

that's it for now - interested in having a crafty class as part of your upcoming birthday party or event? i've got a whole slew of other classes available, shoot me an email at heartsandlaserbeams@gmail.com and we'll make it happen!

who wants to see something new!!!

this here is a photo of the huzzz josh cutting open one of those heineken minikegs with his dremel tool. lookit those sparks fly! there was a rattley noise coming from inside the empty keg so he wanted to see what was inside - i predicted an even smaller keg of beer! unfortunately getting inside this thing is hard work and we don't have access to a chain saw so the project was abandoned.

and that's not the only show and tell i've got for today!



check out our dog jimmy the greek on a brand new coaster set! 50% of the price of these coaster sets will benefit the humane society, cuz we're huge fans of helpin out the homeless animals!

there's all kinds of new stuff in the shop today, including mousepads, coaster sets, stationery and personalized easter plates!



order your easter plates soon soon soon, cuz it takes a little time to get em made up - unfortunately there's not quite time to get them if you're international, but U.S. orders can be placed until march 22 with guarunteed easter delivery!

coming soon to a website near you!

i can't wait to show you all the crap i've got up my sleeves! all kinds of new stuff will be on the site in the next day or two, so don't forget to check back!

(if you do forget don't worry, i'm sure i'll remind you TONS!!)

disneyland fun times!

two days in a row, we're back on blogging track!



friday i got to go to disneyland with my sister michelle and her kids for a few hours, it was so much fun! it wasn't too busy, we were only there a few hours, it was all in all pretty sweet!

we ran around on tom sawyer's island for a while, took jacob on star tours for the first time ever, and got to see my other sister danielle hard at work! make sure you take a look at the pics i took and keep an eye out for her - she's got a big red nose and carries an axe!



then that night i spent a bunch of time working on top secret projects! i hope to be able to share soon, it's gonna be a ton of fun for everyone! pow!

recap from the arthouse coop sketchbook opening!

dude, last night my sister michelle came over to hang out and after we ordered delicious chinese food from mr. chens, we remembered the opening reception for the sketchbook project show with art house coop was going on in atlanta!

and that they were webcasting it!

AND we are both in it!

so the first step was to get onto facebook and twitter to adjust our statuses to alert the masses that we were attending the opening via the webcast!

step 2 was to be told repeatedly by the art house website that they could only let 50 people into the webcast area at a time! being patient stinks!

so to pass the time we ate delicious chinese food! orange chicken, wantons and steamed rice, and don't skimp on the woodchuck!

we finally got into the chatroom with 40 minutes left in the reception! woo!!!

i'm leanin in for a closer look, and we're plottin all the hobo jokes that we will later tell the group in the chatroom!

beer and the internets is a winning combination, by the way!

we finished off the night with fortune cookies... and let's just say michelle's may not have really fit her persona...

all in all we had a really fun night! after the art house show closed, we spent time on youtube watching world war 2 era disney cartoons and the redubbed gi joes including my all time fave, and oh dude i finally saw dr. horrible! you must watch it! i will always and forever be hopelessly in love with neil patrick harris, the end.

and also tonight is roller derby night and i'm super jazzed! but i'll say exactly what i said last game, i wish mila minute or laura palm-her were skating, but i'm sure it's gonna be a kickass game!

pow!!!

best. job. ever.

the winner of "best job ever" has got to be my sister danielle, who is currently interning on the kevin and bean morning show here in l.a.

if you need proof, click here for the link, click on "kevin and bean" on the left sidebar and watch the kevin and bean tv video called "beermug eats prison cheetos". my sister danielle, rockin' a green shirt and short hair, shows up on the left side of the screen a few times as she follows the djs directions on how to make a prison recipe for cheetos.

lemme say it again.

best. job. ever.

argyle for everyone!

so last spring i had started this dog sweater, and for whatever reason about 20 minutes away from finishing it i put it in the closet and forgot about it for almost a year!!! wtf! busted it out again this week at stitch n bitch and i totally finished that shit! i think it turned out pretty awesome and jimmy doesn't totally hate wearing it. (he know he gets all kinds of special attention from other people when he wears clothes so he's pretty tolerant)

if you didn't know, jimmy the greek has a celebrity page on facebook and you definitely should become a fan - write a note to him on the wall, he ALWAYS answers his fan mail!

also, have you heard about the sketchbook project? it's a great show being put on by the art house cooperative, and the travellin show starts today! artists from all over (including me and my sister!) all drew in a CRAPLOAD of sketchbooks and mailed em in. these fine folks are takin the show on the road and will be exhibiting the sketchbooks at nine different places - if you're east coast you may be able to see em in person! check out the show dates here!

AND if you're not east coast, you can see a live broadcast of the first show tonight! i believe it takes place from 7-10pm eastern time, so look sharp!

let's get buck wild up in this piece!

ok here's a cycle that happens constantly in my life:

i'll pass a store that looks awesome like five million times thinking i should go in, and never get around to it. then the store closes. then i get sad for never having gone in.

i cannot begin to tell you how many awesome places i've missed in long beach because of it - that totally sweet antique place that was a block away from the 4th street ralphs that always had one of those 60s egg-shaped chairs out front? never went in. that cool retro-antiquey-kitschy shop in a house (i think it was called blast from the past?) on the corner of 4th and redondo? never went in.

so guess what, it was all set to happen again, but this time the cycle's been broken!!! another place that i have eyeballed litterally a billion times while driving by it on long beach boulevard (it's just south of where the 405 crosses long beach blvd) is closing, but this time we've stopped to check it out!

it's the buck wild dollar store!!! it's literally THE BEST DOLLAR STORE NAME OF ALL TIME!

and if you didn't see the sign on the street, looking at this parking sign it looks like you might be at a strip joint!

josh recreates a classic photo i took of my bff jenn at walmart years ago - you can see the original here!

the sad thing about this dollar store adventure is that they're closing. but the good thing is that meant everything in the store was 50% off!!! and while it's totally typical dollar store fare, there is some good shit! all kinds of fun kids crafty and school supplies, and just lots of little odds and ends.

but lookit all the stuff we scored for 18 bucks!!!

i highly recommend if you live in the area getting your ass there asap! they're located at 3090 long beach blvd, long beach ca 90807. tell em large marge sent ya!

hearts and laserbeams book report: sew darn cute

ok i have to tell you i'm a total fan of jenny ryan. number one, she's the brains and brawn behind felt club. number two, she's super duper nice. these are two huge things in my book, so you better believe that when i found out she wrote a sewing book i preordered that shit post haste!

and look how cute the cover is!



hearts and laserbeams book report: sew darn cute by jenny ryan

ok i aint gonna lie to you, this book is chock full of super cute fun projects; all of which would be great gifts for friends or family and cover a multitude of occasions! housewarming? check out the embellished kitchen towels or recycled coasters! baby shower? check out the spumoni quilt and squarebears!

these patterns aren't written to be followed strictly as is and i love that - there's pattern pieces to be sure, but there's plenty of encouragement to branch out and make your own remixes. everything's written in a very welcoming friendly style, like you're sittin and chattin with jenny ryan over a cup of coffee. if you're familiar in your sewing skin, you can skip the intro pages and get right to the nitty gritty but if you're a beginner there are LOTS of awesome helpful sewing tips to get you started!

i decided that since this isn't really a reading type book, more of a how-to book, i'd do one of the how-tos as part of my book report - i chose the reversible headband, mostly because i didn't feel like searching through my oodles of supplies to find the interfacing or stuffing that's needed for a bunch of the other projects!


i decided on this totally sweet multicolored bird fabric i got at michael levine months ago, and a clean off-white fabric for the reverse side.


i also decided my dog jimmy the greek should join me in my crafting endeavors!


got all my pieces cut out, and did some sketches on cute embellishment ideas!


started stitchin some outlines of stars onto the birds side while watching the bachelor (my secret guilty tv pleasure!) check it out, someday i'll teach you how to airbrush a supremely shiny forehead in a photo... you totally can't even tell i had one!


check out my flying fingers of fury!!


i ended up with a bunch of stitchy stars on the birds side, and some fun felt flower appliques on the reverse side! i had so much fun just messin around the other day i just kept adding more and more little tiny stars and french knots to this thing and i love how it looks! i'm a big fan of retro-y stardust effects!


sewing the pieces all together! lookit my face, this takes serious concentration!


and voila! the finished product! i love how it turned out, but if i could do it over i would've taken a liiiiitle more time attaching the ties to the main piece... they didn't quite match up just right... but on the upside the way i normally wear headbands that part'll be hidden by my hair.


modellin one side,


and the other!

basically this book is just as awesome as its author, and you should get your copy immediately!

ratings
5 hearts: love love love all of the projects and the book design! jenny gets extra points for calling me "shitlips" in her autograph to me from the book signing the other night, too. FTW!!!

0 farts: nuff said!

imagonna stitch the shit outta it!

today was all kinds of fun! drove up to handmade galleries in sherman oaks cuz the crafty chica has written a new book and she was havin a book signing slash crafty demo, and it was just really cool getting to sit with some of my fave crafty peeps chattin and sewing and laughing and we just had a blasty!

this was my first time meeting the crafty chica (aka kathy cano-murillo), and she was just SUPER nice! her demo was puffy appliques, where you cut a picture from one piece of fabric and applique it to a contrasty piece of fabric - stitch around the edge, add some polyfill inside, and pow! adorableness!

i wish i had thought to get my camera out and snap some pics of the cool stuff people were doing; i was just so into doin my little embroidery thing i lost track of the photodocumenting! it's always kinda fun to just go with the flow without having any sort of plan - i sat there for 3 hours just adding more and more to my piece and here's how it turned out:



and i also picked up a copy of her new book AND 2 little bottles of glitter because i heart glitter like no ones business!



and also, jenny ryan of felt club fame had a book signing on friday at reform school which i also went to and it was ALSO faboo! stay tuned, in the future i'm gonna do a book report on her book, too!

book reports for everyone!

and now i'm kickin back and watchin the oscars!

guess who's wickedly chic!

i was ceremoniously dubbed wickedly chic's "reader of the week" this week, and to celebrate i will now eat a hamburger covered in chocolate!

oh i'm sorry that's wickedly gross, not chic.

uh... this is awkward.... lookit the pic they used, i love it! it's from josh and i's honeymoon at the fanciest wendys ever in st thomas.



(that totally makes it sound like we honeymooned at wendys, and maybe we did. we just really heart frostys, don't judge us!)

my finished poster entry...

just uploaded my entry in the flight of the conchords poster design contest; cross your fingers for me! there's some really great designs on the site!

sharing the robotty love!

just wanted to give a shoutout to april at creativeapples.etsy.com, she gave hearts and laserbeams a totally great review on her blog today! click here to see what she had to say!

three cheers to creativeapples, thanks so much! a free set of robot buttons is on it's way to you for your support!

i did not throw up!!!

that is one of the awesomest things about whale watching yesterday with josh and his friends - I DID NOT THROW UP!!

the last time i went whale watching, i think i was in 8th grade, and no lie i spent 87.5% of the trip back then hurlin in the bathroom. this time josh and i were totally prepared and took the max dose of dramamine an hour before activity, and no chunks! gods be praised!

it was a really fun trip followed by margaritas galore - we didn't actually see any whales, but we DID see a buttload of different kinds of dolphins and it was totally effing sweet. we were standing right along the railing at the front right corner of the boat, so these dolphins that were swimming with the boat were literally RIGHT below us. totally sweet.



click on the dolphins to see all the cool pics i got of em!

love is in the air!

i had so much fun working on valentines for fred flare's snail mail event i kept going and made some new designs for your v-day enjoyment! thanks for looking!

brace yourselves...

really the best way to show you these pics is to give you the conversation i was having with jenn as i shared em with her:

dehdohdee2: BRAAAAAAACEFAAAAAAACE1

pantone220: YESSSSSSSSSSS
pantone220: LETS SEEEE

dehdohdee2: thats what all the nurses chanted at me as i left the dentist
dehdohdee2: and then they threw things at me

pantone220: HAHAHAHAH

dehdohdee2: containers of wax and toothbrushes

pantone220: good good they got my message

dehdohdee2: HAHAHAHAHAHAH
dehdohdee2: ok i'm gettin the pics off my camera give me a couple of minutes

pantone220: yeah!

dehdohdee2: here's what's awesome about braces
dehdohdee2: i'm trying like hell to stop biting my nails and it's damn near impossible with em on

pantone220: more imporatantly what CANT you eat now

dehdohdee2: and they give you tons of NO SODA propaganda so that'll help
dehdohdee2: no sticky stuff like taffy and shit like that
dehdohdee2: no beef jerky is the killer

pantone220: bahahahah

dehdohdee2: cuz i dont eat it much
dehdohdee2: but i heart it so

pantone220: im sending you a ten foot tall taffy basket

dehdohdee2: HAHAHAHAHHAHAH i'm sending you to hell!!!

pantone220: hahahahah!

dehdohdee2: ok so here we go

pantone220: OMG

dehdohdee2: the nurse who was setting me up

pantone220: yea

dehdohdee2: when she got all the contraptions in my mouth that hold it open so they can do their dirty business,
dehdohdee2: she's all aw it's too bad you don't have someone here to take pics!

pantone220: hahahaha

dehdohdee2: and so i gestured that i had a camera and she took a pic for me



pantone220: yeah!

dehdohdee2: HAHAHHAHHAHHAHA

pantone220: HAHAHAHA OMG
pantone220: LMAOOOOOOOO

dehdohdee2: and then an hour and a half later i finished gettin my grill on



pantone220: HAHAHAH OMG

dehdohdee2: it totally feels like a grill too
dehdohdee2: i'm so hip hop

pantone220: so weird!

dehdohdee2: HAHAHAHHAHAHA

pantone220: HHAHAHA

dehdohdee2: it's like alien torture devices

pantone220: omg i cant believe it
pantone220: awesome
pantone220: you are goign to be americas next top hobag in no time

dehdohdee2: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH sweet!!!

happy new years!!!

omg i am awful, it's already a week into the new year, i've been home from vacation for like 3.5 days now, and i STILL have not updated anything on the blog!!

i'll keep it short and sweet, but the holidays were a blasty! was bequeathed with a spanky new buttonmaker that will greatly expand the amount of stuff i can make for your artsy fartsy enjoyment, keep an eye out for all kinds of new designs soon!

a big ol group of us went to savannah to stay at the farm for a week and it was amazing. lots of good times all around - if ya wanna take a gander at our shenanigans, go here! if ya wanna see what celeb paid a visit to the ol' farmstead, go here! if ya wanna see actual for real pics of our farm, go here! enjoy!

i did a crazy amount of reading on the trip out and back, so in the next couple of days i'll have new book reports for you!

pow!!! it's great to be back!

hearts and laserbeams fabric is here!

so exciting, so exciting! i can't wait make all kinds of new fabrics! and then make stuff with that fabric! and then poop my pants!

plopcorn for everyone!

hope y'all had an awesome thanksgiving! ours was cool, nice and chill and good times all around ending with a ton of tasty food and me conkin out on the couch by 8pm! it's because i'm an old fogey, you see.

so there were some amazing deals out there for black friday, so much so that josh and i actually got up at 430am on friday to go to target! we got there by about 545am, and the line was HUGE. and really, honestly, one of the biggest reasons we went (aside from sale cameras!) was this:



josh had seen this popcorn maker at target a few weeks ago and fell in love. he's been wantin an air popper for a while cuz he hearts popcorn like no ones business and who knows what's in the microwave stuff!



here he is waiting oh so patiently for his first batch of old-timey-popcorn-popper-air-popped popcorn...



here's a shot of the popcorn popper's hole... yuk yuk yuk...



and the moneyshot!!! this popcorn maker's awesome, it shoots the kernels out pretty violently, like they bounce outta the bowl onto the floor sometimes! but oh so delicious! (the popcorn from the bowl, not the stuff from the floor, you understand.)

best thing about air-popped popcorn? you can put all the unpopped kernels back into the air popper for round 2! hooray!!!

also awesome about this weekend, i've been workin on 4 new paintings for the january bird show at cactus gallery - stay tuned for pics! on that note i gotta jet, caddyshack just came on ye olde television and it's totally beckoning to me!!!

jazz hands and the razzle zazzle!

it started innocently enough... this morning i thought i'd order some hearts and laserbeams logo stickers to include with my orders. you know, just a fun little packaging item. set up the file, ordered it on zazzle...

and before you know it i was finding all kinds of awesome things to make and it was 2 hours later! i love zazzle for being able to make things i can't, like printed skateboards and shoes - oh, the shoes. made 5 different pairs using the spoonflower repeats i created last week and they're adorable! these are my faves:



you should check out the rest of the stuff i made today, will be adding to it again soon!

custom fabric update!

ok i had gotten my first sample of spoonflower fabric a couple of weeks ago, and being a color/repeat person there was one little thing that stuck out and bugged me - couple that with spoonflower's changed the fabric they're printing on a little and pow i put in a reorder on that awesome heart plaid!

i also designed 3 other fabrics to coordinate with it so i can offer groupings of designs that complement each other well... when we're finally moved and i can unpack all my artsy supplies you'll be able to get these four designs as a set of coasters and other fun things, so cross your fingers that our place sells and we can make that happen!

felt club recap and the golden robot awards!

it's been a crazy week, work-wise, folks. so much so that i missed california's great shakeout - rest assured the next one will be properly photodocumented at the hearts and laserbeams headquarters, as we have some of the best earthquake drills around!

felt club was this last weekend, and if you've never been to this show you. have. got. to. go! if you love etsy and all things funky and handmade you'll be in heaven!

one of my absolute favorite things about an event like this, aside from seeing crafty friends and checking out amazing arts and crafts, is the business cards. ohhhhhh, the business cards!

the great thing about business cards for artsy craftsy design types is that it's so far removed from the bland, plain, stark business cards you remember from american psycho. for these types of businesses, the more eye-catching, the more fabulously designed, the more memorable, the better! and with that, i invite you to:

the hearts and laserbeams golden robot awards for excellence in business card design 2008!

i've poked through all of the bajillions of business cards i saw this weekend at felt club, and these were my faves in the following categories - enjoy, and congrats to the winners!


most unique shape!


figs and ginger and v is for violet tied for this one, both completely stood out from the pack with their unusual shapes! figs and ginger's round card is wider than a standard business card, so when you stack em all up it sticks out on the side, making it impossible to get lost in the crowd. v is for violet is in the same vein as those new tiny moo business cards, but feels a tad cooler because it's slightly bigger. there's also an awesome pattern of scissors printed in a clear varnish on top of the overall design that's totally eyecatching when you hold it in your hand!


funniest business card!


ok my imaginary boyfriend wins a golden robot for making me laugh my ass off with her card - when i picked it up from her table, i didn't think much of it because i was looking at the backside, with her business name and info in this cute handwritten text. and into my bag it went! then, as i was sifting through all my faboo business cards lookin for the standouts, i came to this one and it was face up this time, and this is hands down funniest business card ever!! hooray!!!


best save in the face of business card adversity!


ok i love this handout by the folks at copacetique - super cute, to the point about being outta business cards, but refuses to miss an opportunity to get the word out there and have someone check out their website. kudos!


favorite eyecatching elements!


miss natalie gets a golden robot because this is one of the happiest stripes ever - it reminds me of one of my favorite sweaters, and it was enough to get me to stop and take a second look! still life mercantile's card is really well designed as well, love the bird motif that flows on both sides of the card - that kind of retro feel character totally caught my eye and dragged it fifteen feet!


best use of a collage on a business card!


ok seriously both the paper princess and oh hello friend have some of the prettiest business cards i've ever seen - their montages of images make me wanna find tiny frames just for their business cards! so cute and nostalgic! the paper princess also has a great pearlized finish on their cards that gives it a bit of awesome sheen. note i said awesome sheen, not charlie sheen...


sweetest letterpressed business cards!


i heart letterpress stuff so much it makes my socks dirty - what i loved most about these business cards by krank press and joie studio is that they're letterpress people that have letterpressed their cards, too. both of these cards have that same awesome heavy paper and embossed texture that so clearly calls out what it is they do.


cutest critters on a card!


cartoon characters get em every time, folks, and these are no exception! not only did sheriff peanut's booth have totally adorable stuff, but their peanut mascot is the bomb! the cats on jake & micah's card and the octopus on the back of nifnaks' card were adorable, too, enough to make someone wanna adopt 20 kittens and take em on a field trip to the aquarium!


best use of product recognition!


i have to tell you these were some of my favorites soley because it's BAM right in your hand what it is they do, and the design is way cute to boot! what's great about this type of business card design is that the second i pulled these cards from tsai-fi, berkley illustration, art school dropout and rock scissor paper out of my tote bag i remembered everything they had at their booths and how much i wanted all their stuff. i think that makes these really strong promo pieces, because it's so easy to see what they have to offer.

and that's my favorite business cards from felt club, hope you liked em! were there others i missed that you particularly liked? you should comment about it! also, i think the golden robot awards will be poppin up every now and then from now on so stay tuned you may win one next for that absolutely gripping phone call you made to your boss about being *cough* *cough* sick last week!

custom hearts and laserbeams fabric on the horizon!

have you heard of spoonflower? i found out about this site through a friend a few months ago - you can basically create your own fabric repeats, send it to them, and order fabric with your artwork printed on it! super exciting because the mix of art and math that comes with a good repeat makes it one of my favorite things ever to do.

the site's in beta mode right now, so if you sign up you do have to wait a while for your invite to go through, but rumor on the street is they'll be up and running for all in just a few weeks!



yesterday i ordered a fat quarter of this plaid i designed a while back - if all goes well, i'll be designing a bunch of different fabrics and offerin em for sale, AND i'll be able to make things like pouches and skirts and aprons and so on completely one of a kind hearts and laserbeams style! SO EXCITING!!!

pick up your copy of this week's the district magazine!

i am so jazzed that the district weekly interviewed me for this weeks' "best of long beach" issue - i got to tell them all kinds of great things about living here! the issue hit stands today, so keep your eye out and pick up a copy!

fyi though! i have a bit of a knack for being wordy when i'm excited, so my entire interview isn't in the print edition - for that, you'll have to visit the article online!

the magazine is available pretty much everywhere all throughout long beach for the next week and it's FREE! if you're out of the area and would like one mailed, email me at heartsandlaserbeams@gmail.com and i'll get one out to ya!



in other news, put a slathering of stuff that's been in storage back into the shop between yesterday and today - custom 1" buttons are back, along with cool things like tiny watercolors and outlet covers!

most exciting, i just designed a couple of new plates for the holidays that are fully customizeable - pick either santa or a reindeer, pick your colors, add your own personal message, and pow! a fun gift for any little one (or big one, for that matter)... check em out:





thanks for lookin, stay tuned tomorrow when i tell you all about today's jury duty!

savor the soapy flavor!

i found out about savor months ago, when they were one of the featured sellers on etsy. reading the profile, it was just really intriuging that lots of lisa's inspiration comes from actual real-world recipes. AND they look good enough to eat!


(soapsmells clockwise, from top left: ginger lemon, creme brulee, geisha, my boyfriend's tshirt, pineapple buttercream)

i finally bought some savor soap off of etsy this week, and i give her twelve thumbs up! communication with her customers (something i'm really big on) is tops, her packaging is classy and eye-catching, and shipping is fast! i ended up picking 5 to try out, and i'm totally sure i'll be back - they smell AMAZING!

savor also included a little crocheted washcloth in one of my favorite colors which gives them bonus points - hooray for soapy goodness!

thank you for being a friend!

i just realized like last week that etsy has "appreciation" photos that you can upload as part of your feedback, so i created this today to pass along to customers! once my workshop is up and running again i'd love to redesign these as thank you cards, maybe as a 3 color linoblock print.

new design work is on the horizon, with awesome new holiday items, so stay tuned!

celeb connection number 873

(which makes me sound super popular, like i have 872 other instances i could tell you about)

i'm watching the new my name is earl, and david arquette's on it tonight - did you know he has a painting of mine? my life is full of small world after all stories, check this out!

last fall i was selling my hearts and laserbeamsy wares at a craft fair at the l.a. fairgrounds. sometime around late afternoon, a group of 3 kids (they were actually probably adults, but i still call everyone kids) came walking by, and they pause looking at the couple of original fruit and nuts series paintings i had left. and they start talking quietly to each other, and kinda laughing and one of them says "you should totally buy it for them".



when people stand there talking about something i've done for that length of time it's either really good or really bad, so i go up and say hi and we start chatting. and one of the group pipes up, pointing at her friend, "she works with courtney cox on that tv show dirt, and this week david arquette is directing the episode, so we were thinking about getting this painting for them", pointing to "david, courtney and apple take a bath".

i about pooped my pants and told them they absolutely had to buy it and they agreed and that is that! what's really great is there's a part 2 to the story - i had my stuff set up at the patchwork craft show in santa ana last spring, and a girl comes walking up and kinda looks at me funny. she asks if i was at that show at the l.a. fairgrounds, and i tell her yeah, and she's all "we bought that courtney cox and david arquette painting!" she went on to tell me about how they did give it to them, and that they totally love it and that thier kid cracks up all the time about it.

which is just really kind of neat. i mean i've sold a buttload of my artwork to a lot of people over the past few years, but that i can actually tell you that one of my quirky celeb paintings actually went to the celebs pictured in it? fuckin awesome. the end!

next time i'll tell ya how i saw the austin powers car on the freeway! no lie!

they eat candy!

they eat candy!
11" x 14" artwork in 2" black frame
acrylic on canvas
$175

available through january 31 at siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90814

they drink too much part 3!

here's part three in the they drink too much series - here we see the partybot way past his recommended intake of boozeahol, poor thing! this painting was also featured on the cover of the district magazine on january 2; how about you take home a piece of history?



they drink too much #3
8" x 10" artwork in black handmade strip frame
acrylic on canvas
$125

available through january 31 at siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90814

happy weekending!

they drink too much part 2!

here's our partybot again, this time the party's in full swing and he boasts full lampshade regalia!



they drink too much #2
8"x10" artwork in handmade strip frame
acrylic on canvas
$125

available through january 31 at siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90814

join us at the closing reception on january 26 from 6-8pm, won't you?

they drink too much!

part one of a three part series, here we see the party just getting started!



they drink too much #1
8" x 10" artwork in handmade black strip frame
acrylic on canvas
$125

available through january 31 at siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90804

they get flat tires!

poor little guy, stuck on the freeway with a flat tire! won't you take him home?



they get flat tires
8" x 10" artwork in 2" black frame
acrylic on canvas
$100

available through january 31 at siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90814

don't forget to come to the closing reception on 1/26/08, 6-8pm!

they go incognito number 2!

here's the companion piece to yesterday's painting, also a personal favorite!



they go incognito number 2
5" x 7" artwork in 2" black frame
acrylic on canvas
$100

available through january 31 at siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90814

and why does it have to be sunday already? i'm declaring shenanigans!

they go incognito!

they go incognito number 1 and 2 are probably my favorite pieces from this robot show because who doesn't like moustaches!? communists, that's who. this one was featured in the online version of the district's review of the show!



they go incognito #1
5" x 7" artwork in 2" black frame
acrylic on canvas
$100

available through january 31 at siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90814

also, in unrelated news my new favorite subject line for a spam email is "scientific breakthrough for your love wand".

classiest magazine cover ever!

this magazine cover kind of blows my mind. the sweetest thing ever was when i came home from work wednesday, when this issue came out, josh and his bro had already framed this cover and hung it in the living room. if you're siblings or you live in savannah or new mex don't fret we got one set aside for ya, if you're in the long beach area this issue's only on stands until tuesday night so get it while you can!

i would love to think that this cover'll get more people going to check out the show and maybe deciding they want to give one of my robots a home, it would superduper help out the i need new shirt equipment really soon thing!

happy weekending y'all! and how about the latest britney meltdown! the only word for it is WOW.

link to the oc weekly article!

the print version of this one's better, my puking robot painting got on the contents page and then the cupcakes painting was used on the page with the article... so if you're in the oc or surrounding area get one o' the oc weeklys out this week!

if you're not in the oc you can check out their writeup of my show here!

p.s., i've now posted on this blog 1400 times in the past 5ish years. holy crap i'm a chatty cathy.

omgomgomgomgomg!!!

ok not only is the district (long beach's version of the oc weekly) doing a review on my show in this wednesday's issue, but they're putting one of my robots on the cover for the january 2 issue!!!

I AM POOPING MY PANTS RIGHT NOW!!!

so seriously exciting - thanks so much to everyone who came out to the show on saturday night, it was such a fun night and it was great to see everyone's positive reactions to my work! if you didn't get a chance to come to the show saturday there's still time; it's hanging until january 31 at:

siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90802

I AM POOPING MY PANTS RIGHT NOW!!!

so yes. get a district this wednesday to see the article on my show, get an oc weekly this thursday to see their article on it, get the district again on january 2 for the puking robot on the cover.

effing. rad.

que hora est? what time is it?

it's time to remind you yet again that the opening reception for my first ever solo painting show is tomorrow night from 630-930!

siren
2240 east 4th street
long beach, ca 90814

really why do you keep making me remind you? you should have it penned into your calendar by now! what the eff! none of this "i'll pencil you in" business, just write it in big fat sharpie markers already! here's all the info!

still on the fence about going? what if i entice you with a youtube movie i got to be in? i'm kandy kane and baby mama, fyi be advised...


that was cool, right? i'm worth coming to see tomorrow night, right? what if i bring cupcakes and drinks and snacks?

aw COME ON!!! do it for your country!

see ya tomorrow night,
steph

public enemy number 1!

AHAHAHAHAHAH ok my sister danielle found this clip on youtube and it's AWESOME. years ago wayne brady sung to my sister michelle on who's line and for that you should probably send me fifty bucks!

keep an eagle eye out, you may be able to see yours truly when they're gettin' my sister outta her seat!

every good cook deserves a copper pot!!!

aw sweet!!! one of my pieces was used in an article on etsy about how martha stewart loves etsy! ZZZZZAP!

click below to read the article and watch the video clip!

i'm almost sad it's friday!

so the new job starts monday - while i'm super excited about it, it has been so much fun being a fulltime hearts and laserbeams employee this week. i got so much accomplished that's been on the back burner for ages, including:

- did 7 (almost 8! maybe 8 by the end of the weekend) new paintings. 2 for an upcoming halloween show in echo park, 5 (or 6) for a robot series i've been wanting to do for freaking forever. i'm hoping to be able to wrangle a solo show sometime in the future with these robots...

- updated the shop and the etsy store with like 70something things that should've been listed a longass time ago

- learned more about and started to perfect my screen burning technique for screenprinting by burning a total of 7 screens (4 of which need to be cleaned out cuz they stank! thanks to everyone who offered their tips and tricks, i'm really starting to get it!)

- designed four new tees

- screenprinted some tees

- hung out with brian who was in town on business!

- sewed some new scarves

- knit 2 earflap hats for me and the boy

- started xmas shopping

- bought supplies for new purses that i'm super excited to start making this weekend

- did a buttload of laundry

- washed all our windows

- spent lots of time at the dog park

- watched oprah a bunch

- laughed at how dumb tyra is on her talk show

so yes! happy weekending, i'm hoping i can stay productive in my last couple days of housewifeness, and i'll regale you with tales of the new jobby job soon!

holy cannoli!!!

i've spent more than a good long chunk of today updating the shop with things i've made for the last few shows i was in, how's about you go check it out!

scarves and a few more prints to come tomorrow!

new tee designs! get em while they're hot!

bahaahahhah here's a couple of designs josh and i have been wanting to bust out for a while - click on each one to be taken to our website to make em your own!

eat shat and die!!!

ok so a couple of days ago, i heard the william shatner song "common people" on indie and was reminded of how effing awesome it is, so of course today i bought the whole cd from itunes and put common people as my song on the myspace page. check out the video for the song here.

also! there's no way to describe how awesome it was, but last saturday i went with a bunch of awesome people to the foo fighters / police show at dodger stadium and it was amazing. effing awesome.

and! loud noises!

but! there's been all kinds of roboty things in the works, and they're up on the site for sale now, so help a sistah out with the art habit!

check out the notecards:


and two new tshirts:




and four new prints of watercolors that'll be in the cactus gallery show this month:








remember, the original watercolors of the merbots will be available at cactus gifts in july! stay tuned for the details on the artists reception on july 21!

p.s. jenn and john are on their way to nyc soon and i'm hella jealous, i don't care if it's a business trip. the end!

jeepers it's the fuzz!

etsy is a wonderful magical place. a place where i've listed all the stuff in the shop on my own site, which has gotten slim to none traffic in the shop area since it's gone online, and within 2 weeks on etsy i've sold 3 things. if you do any kinds of handmade goodies i highly reccommend the exposure etsy gives ya!

in other none-businessy news, FOOLICE TONIGHT. foo fighters. the police. dodger stadium. me sending out an s.o.s. i'm sending out a uh uh uhhhhh uh uh! ohhhhh man this is gonna be sweet - i've never been to a big fatass stadium show for a huge band.

AND! almost more exciting! (or maybe just as...) junior senior's touring the u.s. this summer! AND THEY'RE COMING TO L.A.!!! if you know me at all, you know thier first cd is one of my all-time faves, and that the junior senior show jenn and i went to in madison a few years ago was one of the most fun shows i've ever been to - just a big fat dance party is what it was, and i have been dying to see them again ever since! it'll be at the roxy, which is a smaller club again, which i'm VERY excited about - get your tix, it's gonna rock your sox off!

what else... i tooted.

annnnnnnnnd it's the weekend, which i'm very excited about. today i'm going to my first long beach craft mafia meeting. i keep hoping when i walk in they're gonna say the first thing you have to do for craft mafia is crochet a horse's head and leave it in someone's bed. i've told this story to many a folk over the past few weeks and it cracks me up every time.

OH SHIT AND EVEN MORE THAN THAT!!! yesterday at work, guy and stacy had us watch a couple of chunks of sesame street video, to get a better feel for what sesame workshop is all about and how much they do for underpriveledged kids all around the world. me, i'm already way on board with sesame street - it was one of my favorite shows as a kid. cuz it's just wacky-funny stuff that's slipped in there for the adults, things like colambo (a lamb dressed as columbo going around solving crimes) and the billy idol muppet singing "letter L" to the tune of "rebel yell". good good stuff. the most important thing to mention though is i'm not so into the new watered down sesame street. in a word, i'm gonna say it just flat sucks.

but apparently there's a box set of old sesame street clips from the 60s and 70s - and there's a clip on there that we watched yesterday that made me laugh so hard i had tears streaming down my face and i almost couldn't breathe. apparently it's the 1-minute bit jim henson showed pbs to get them to put sesame street on the air. i'm so mad it's not on youtube so i can just show it to you, but good god it's amazing. if you can netflix that box set, do it. and then put that pitch video on the damn youtube so i can watch it again.

new necklace in the shop!

check out madge the flapper in necklace form, by jenn at comme ci, comme ca! 12 bucks and she's yours!

bahahahahah she's a fiend i tell you!

new items in the shop again! jenn norwood is a picture-taking fiend! check out the latest, 2 new colors for dino necklaces and power rings pow-kaPOW!







also, we fried up some squid steaks tonight... and like the actual animal, they came out a little weird. like i would totally use our breading concoction again on something else, but the consistency of squid is a little hard to take after the first five bites. it was kinda good but mostly weird. we still have squid left over, so we'll try a different recipe next time...

also, why the hell is it sunday night already? i feel like i should've had more weekend than this! on the upside, i did do 3 new little 5x5" paintings for a hot dog place/gallery in los angeles today - i'm showing em to my contact on tuesday along with other paintings that are going up for sure, so if you take a shine to one of em i'll letcha know where you can get em soon!

squid fishing!

HOLY CRAP IT WAS AWESOME.

i can't wait to try cooking it up!

pastry pasties!

ok i am totally in love with these and you should probably buy em! because they're cupcakes! for your cupcakes!

p.s. did you write So.Co.Bazaar on your calander yet? you probably should!

working like crazy...

ok so i'm goin, goin, goin trying to get stuff together for SoCo Bazaar next weekend - feast your eyes on the new stickers! they're available here on the site. they'll only be a quarter at the show because i won't have to pack and send em! which is why you should come to the show, to get some totally sweet tattoo stickers. do it for your country! i'm workin on some other things today to bring with me, maybe some tiny little paintings for your artsy fartsy enjoyment, we'll see what i come up with!

last night, josh and i went to go see our pal melissa's show at black market gallery in los angeles. seriously, you should go and check it out, it was all really amazing stuff. i love how much tiny little detail is put into every painting, and the kind of otherworldly feel her paintings have. if you've got the time you should definitely go check it out before it closes. while we don't have the cash for one of her paintings, i'm definitely buying a print cuz that shit is awesome!

what else... mmm... there was something i was gonna say... oh yeah stay tuned i have a naughty item that's going in the shop soon! lemme just say they're cupcakes. for your cupcakes. and they're delicious!

yipes! stripes!

ron perlman personally requested that for his birthday i share with you fine folks the magic that is an original josh calvert painting, celebrating the best movie ever about a zebra who lives at a farm that wants to be a racehorse...

welcome to the monkey house

i never did get around to reading more vonnegut books like i've always meant to, and now when i go pick up slaughterhouse five it's gonna look like i'm only interested cuz the guy died. welcome to the monkey house was a cool book of short stories, and you should also probably read breakfast of champions. don't ask me what they were about, i read em ages ago, but i remember they were wacky and good.

this week has dragged more than any week has dragged before!! mostly because vacation looms on the horizon and i just can not effing wait. just one more day of work and then glorious, glorious freedom!

i finally got my roll of chain in the mail this week which means soon soon SOON there will be shrinky dink necklaces in the shop! soon soon soon means i haven't quite gotten off my butt to put them together, but let me assure you they will rock your socks off!

finished a painting last night for a group show and i'm totally lovin it - so bright and happy! hopefully someone else will think so too and take it home with them. but hopefully they will pay for it first, because that's how these things work, you understand. take a gander:



one last thing - josh and i were commenting the other day about how we haven't seen the segway santa in ages again. i hope he's okay!

and good god i hope it's a new office tonight...

link-o-rama for yo mama!

so my sister michelle and i went to our very first stitch and bitch get together in long beach last night, and it was totally fun! i'm lookin forward to goin to the wednesday get together next week (i got somethin' goin on tuesday night) to meet some more knitters. a couple of the ladies last night were askin what kind of shirts i've done and what's out there, so here's a whole slathering of stuff i did the art for...

alloy
lakers girl
you sank my battleship
i'm a keeper

hot topic
toddler tattoo tee
hello kitty popsicle tank
snow white don't look back
ruby gloom - a good friend
ruby gloom - skull boys
amy brown fairy tee

80s tees
strawberry shortcake allover strawberries
i only have eyes for you
i have nothing to wear

pacsun
hello kitty surf cities

jcpenney
spoiled rotten and hello kitty

80s purple
grover will you hug me
my little pony mohawk
retro peanuts panel
ford country
fresh off the farm
pink panther pink is the new black
hello kitty tokyo
good grief
boston celtics
76ers

delias
chicks doodle
cinderella panel
strawberries allover in red
cars and hills

revolve clothing
i heart the 80s skates

black snak!

is what our ticket stubs for the movies said today. which is appropriate because we ate popcorn, girl scout cookies, punch and pie. deeelishious!

black snake moan was a really great movie and i wholeheartedly endorse this fine product! my favorite scene was when sam jackson's playin the blues in a bar, singin about a bartender and mf'ing this and mf'ing that all over the mutual fundin' place.

also, this is one of my favorite things i've worked on so far. buy like 50 of them so i get to do more!