Blah,Blah,Blahg

COTTON CANDY COLORED BAKERS TWINE!!!!

Now if this isn't the most exciting thing to happen on a Wednesday since I don't know when!  Oh, gosh, pretty, pretty pink + white bakers twine by Divine Twine.  The genius behind this amazing invention--Whitney Beard of Whisker graphics. 

It just makes me giddy, it's such a perfect pink Whitney. I can't wait to get a hold of my very own.  I do have to admit that I have been loathe to use my existing Divine Twine stash (the lemon was my fave, until the pink came on the scene).  It's just so pretty!  I will use it soon, yes Mame but for now I guess I will just keep it on display...Congrats to Miss Whitney (and all us baker's twine addicts).

SEW U HOME STRETCH REVIEW

I try to accomplish one thing each day.  When I was an athlete and in training this was easy to do--one more mile, one more lap, one more whatever painful, body aching thing I could do.  Now that I am a sloth, I find it harder to to find things to get done that I can feel swell about in a 24 hour period.  I accomplish a lot of food related things like cooking the PERFECT hard-boiled egg (I shall teach you one day) but I haven't accomplished anything lately that I could get excited about (you can only get so excited about an egg ya know?) 

I have been taking sewing classes, two to be exact.  We are in the middle of making a tote-ish bag and the week before we made a coin purse with zipper.  After having some modicum of success I decided that even though I haven't finished my tote I would move on to wardrobe.  So on Sunday I decided to make a top. I had the Built by Wendy Sew U Home Stretch book which is a guide to sewing knits (lt-shirt type knits not chunky sweaters). Knits are supposed to be notoriously difficult but I had a goal in mind and Wendy on my side.  I bought my supplies. Knit jersey is relatively inexpensive (my navy striped number was $8/yard!) Wendy's book in hand and a whole lotta determination.

Wendy's description on how to transfer your useless and totally infuriating tissue pattern to thick banner cardstock is priceless. Her basic tee has multiple variations and since I wouldn't be caught dead in a ribbed crew neck I tried her Scoop neck variation. If you have body issues may I suggest never sewing?  If you are a 2-4 in 'real' life in sewing patterns you would be a 6-8, you can see where this gets tricky? I wasn't sure if I was really a medium or if I needed extra, extra large (I have a Dolly Parton-esque chest). Based on my measurements in Wendy's book I was a small. I wasn't convinced but I was trying to follow directions.

When it stated in the book to drop the neckline 5 inches from the basic tee pattern I thought it was bordering indecent but what do I know? She mentioned adding elastic to the neckline I thought that it was a design detail and left it out.  Afterward I realized it may have something to do with keeping you from flashing the public. Why on earth would I think I knew better than the person writing the book? I've never sewn a garment before in my life and I  questioned the master? Go figure. When she goes over the directions to sew the sides, for the life of me I couldn't find where I needed to stop for arm holes, so I threw  the shirt on and pinned it where I thought the seams should stop and armholes begin. Please don't do this unless you want to try to prick your eyeballs out taking the shirt off.

I was right about indecent for the neckline but I did leave out the elastic so I can't blame Wendy.  I found a tutorial for making ruffles here and saved the t-shirt from infamy. It only took me 16 hours to make and my mother proudly let me know, "not too bad,". I wore my shirt to work today and got a compliment at 8a.m. which made me as proud as a peacock.  I highly recommend Wendy's book, heck all her books are aces (if this dummy can follow them, you should be in GREAT shape). I am so all about the knits and want to make this into a cute dress next but I think I better finish my tote-ish bag first.  I can still collect tutorials if you have the hankering to link to any in the comments, just sayin'

BUILT BY WENDY SPRING 2010

I rarely post about fashion, because well, I am not that into fashion per se.  I love clothes, don't get me wrong, but I eschew the trend or latest fad and stick to the classics. Not always. I did detour once in the 8th grade with some stone washed + bleached jean numbers that I tied with a belt at the waist like a paper bag. Never again.

Wendy Mullin, the designer of Built by Wendy and author of some of my very favorite sewing tomes and patterns has created a collection that I feel like was designed with me (and maybe a lithe Parisian girl) in mind (note* I am neither lithe nor Parisian). I love almost every single piece and feel like if I added any of them to my wardrobe I would never have buyers remorse. Don't even get me started on her look book for spring 2010, it's perfect in my eyes but then again so is Wendy.

Ms. Mullin has me totally amped for my sewing class this evening.  I am kind of on the slow side when it comes to sewing, definitely not the same as riding a bike. I often forget what's next and get nervous and start to sweat. We are supposed to be doing zippers so I am probably more excited than is warranted for the demonstration, but to each his own, right?

//all images via built by wendy//

TROMPE L'OLEIL ANTHROPOLOGIE TASSEL TOTE

{image via anthropologie}

I know this tote has made the blog rounds, but I am duly inspired.  I just took that awesome silkscreen class from Nicole's Classes so I am feeling a little crafty or I could do something like Merilee of Mer Mag did with these really cool fabric markers.  Oh the possibilities!  Is it Friday yet?

I'D RATHER BE IN BROOKLYN...

Sunday I was doing a Google search for a cute blouse sewing pattern and came across Jenny Gordy (of Wiksten Made fame & a doppelganger for designer Kelly Wearstler) uber sweet Tova top. I about popped out of my skin when I saw she was teaching a sewing class at  Lena Corwin's Studio (I am a huge fan of both these ladies). Oh how I wish I could teleport to Brooklyn. I can't but maybe some of you are locals and didn't know about this veritable smorgasbord of creativity.  This is 'Craftista' at its finest, just incredibly, cool, modern and utterly useful craft that doesn't involve macaroni or Elmer's glue. To say I am envious of those that can attend these classes is an understatement.  For those of us stuck on the left coast anyone know where I can find a blouse pattern as cute as Jenny's Tova top? I am rubbish with making sleeves but I need to practice and with my rather large chest, I think it's safe to say that I shan't be making any strapless tops anytime soon...

I*DIY--I'VE MISSED YOU SOMETHING BAD....

I would like to give a big, warm fuzzy welcome back to one of my fave blogs. Thank you for coming back, I was starting to take it personally.  I missed you so.

Oh yes and a big congrats on the baby news.  Besides puppies I love me some babies.  I urge anyone that's interested in pretty, fonts, paper and general loveliness to visit Luzel's blog, you won't be disappointed (unless of course she stops writing again and then you'll be totally disappointed).

ALMA MATTERS

Last weekend was the much anticipated mini ArtWeekend retreat by Nicole's Classes.  I was really excited since I missed their San Francisco version (they taught letterpress at the SF one).  This was really a series of crash/mini courses, a little taste of what their full series would be like.  It was definitely enough to whet your appetite and of course I did learn a few things.  I do want to sign up for a full day course eventually or take one of the online classes but for the price I would say I got my money's worth.  Bonus? I met some really fabulous people.

One of those fab people was the darling Alma Loveland. For teaching a speed class in beginning Illustrator (a bear of a program) she kept her cool, was patient and had a few tips and tricks up her sleeve.  Alma is very creative in her own right and I felt like it was a great taste of what is possible with this robust program.  Am I proficient now?  Well, let's not get crazy but I can do a few things I couldn't before and that my dears opens doors for this here tinkerer. I also bought her Illustrator 101 text book, which I happen to think is very well designed and breaks down her class fairly well.  It does not beat sitting in class with her (didn't I mention she is darling?) but if you can't get out to meet her, the textbook and online class should prove to be just as enlightening.

In the lobby I met Suzanne of SheWanders.  Suzanne happens to be an excellent photographer and was so full of info for me for my future shoots. I was very grateful for her input and that she would even take the time to let me in on these things.  Her advice was something I wouldn't have figured out on my own and I felt that I was armed with a pocket full of treasures. 

I got lucky again and had jewelry designer Ariel Gordon in all of my classes (we took Nicole's Photo 101 a few months back).  I totally love this girl and would have loved to roll her in the parking lot because she just oozes effortless style--her bag, her jewelry, jeans, jackets, hair, even her computer!  Just a really cool girl.  Ariel is getting married soon and I am trying to convince her that we need to take a letterpress class together.  Heck we've been through four creative classes together, what's a 5th?

{beyond gorgeous photo by nicole hill gerulat. jewelry ariel gordon}

Last I met a very sweet girl Denise Cortez.  She came all the way up from Mexico to take the classes!  Now that's some serious motivation.  She was so nice and I felt horrible that I didn't get a chance to say good bye (so hi & bye Denise).  I loved that she has the same affliction as I do and she wants to do EVERYTHING!  I so get it.  If I could spend weeks on end being crafty I would.  I would sew a new wardrobe, build some furniture, create new recipes, design a couple thank you's, make my own wallpaper and then some. 

{photo via crafty blog by honey.huckabee}

I love to learn and I do highly recommend any of Nicole's Classes.  I know budgets are tight right now, I can justify the classes because they deal directly with what I do for a living.  For those that are trying to segue, these are really reasonable and worth looking into.  A lot of the same type of classes are three to four times the amount and you may not meet awesome individuals like I did.  Good luck!

EMILIE FRIDAY::STARTER CALLIGRAPHY KIT

I almost forgot that I promised to post some pics of my starter calligraphy kit from Emilie Friday.  It really did feel like a present. Emilie enclosed this very cool calligraphied magazine page which is a work of art. That piece alone would have been worth the (very reasonable) price. Oh no, Emilie did not stop there, beside what the kit comes with, she sent all sorts of delightful surprises-- little scraps with her hand script on them, hand-stamped wood veneer labels, and of course the super sweet personalized note to moi!  We discussed creating a more branded kit which I would LOVE to do and offer via Besotted Brand (if only because I selfishly want Emilie to write out her alphabet and numbers so I can practice the Emilie Friday signature style). Wouldn't that be the bee's knees?  Emilie is very enthusiastic about her craft and I have to say I found it completely contagious.  I have no pipe dreams that I will ever be as skilled as either Emilie or Danae, but at least I can play. There is not a kit like she is selling on the market and if you ask me if it's worth it, I will have to tell you it's worth ten times the amount I paid.  I love it, I love Emilie and if you are at all interested in starting out on your pointed pen journey this kit will save you some heartbreak. Trust me it's amazing what the 'right' ink, nib and paper will do for you.  I only wish I found it sooner...

HOW TO MAKE A PHOTO ALBUM OR A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING...

I suppose the title is a little misleading as I am not going to show you how to make a photo album.  I will highly recommend a place that will show you though, does that count?  I received a gift certificate from my mother (Marie to you and me) for Christmas for a photo album making class. Marie thinks I should be printing out my photo's instead of keeping them on my hard drive (my words because my mother doesn't know from hard drive), which she is probably right but she doesn't know how tough it is to get a good print from home (ask Jules) it's near impossible.  Sending out for printing hasn't been much better, so if anyone wants to help me with my photo printing dilemma I am listening.

The photo album class was a few hours long and even though they didn't have the book cloth color I wanted I still thoroughly enjoyed myself.  The teacher thought I was a good "gluer", which made me proud (also, it made up for the fact that I cut like I am drunk). I am going to have to toot my own horn and say the darn thing didn't turn out half bad, in fact I think it turned out pretty good.  Yes, I was as surprised as you are.  It looked store bought if you asked me (and trust me I am super duper picky). I was so thrilled with my new found skill, I considered asking Jules if we could add handmade albums to our Besotted Brand arsenal but I know that would just get me an eye roll and a, "and when will you have time to make these?"  Jules is my voice of reason, which I need in a business partner/bestie as I am totally out of my tree.

The photo album success came on the heels of my very first real photo session.Yes, if you are curious I was scared out of my wits. I was shooting my good friend's new baby. The baby is 7 months old and this was actually the first time I met him.  I am so not used to babies that I really thought 7 months was a newborn.  I had all these newborn type shots laid out in my head.  7 months is basically a teenager. I had to improvise--gasp. Please note, I am such a type A personality that if there's not a plan attached well there's going to be a problem. They actually liked the photo's. I can not express how utterly relieved I was.

I decided to mark the 'firsts' by giving my friends the album I made filled with shots from the day. So here it is in all its glory-- my little album...

If there's not a Paper Source near you to take the class, I also bought this used book Bookcraft from Amazon on book making, which is really, really helpful (and I think it gave me a slight leg up on my classmates). I love the idea of making my own books and hope to do more book binding in the future. If you have another suggestion please leave it in the comments, I am sure we would all love to know...

P.S. Self-adhesive photo corners blow away gummed photo corners any day.

THE BEST OF THE BLAH, BLAH, BLAHG...

In my BYW course instructor and uber blogger Holly Becker doled out some inspiration assignments for us to cover on our blogs this week.  I chose the 'best of' assignment because I realize that some of you may be fairly new to reading my crazy talk and well I should assure you that I have always been this way, it's not recently that I developed my keen wit.  I started this Blahg on a whim and originally it was called 'The Everything' which is probably more descriptive than its current monikor but I thought I was pretty clever coming up with 'The Blah, Blah, Blahg', so that's this bad boys name--for now (subject to change at any time).

These links are culled from the deep archives of the Blahg. I have been doing this for an embarrassingly long time (embarrassing since I have about 12 readers and two are related to me and one I am going to marry).  I know monkeys swinging from chandeliers are not for everyone but I do know dear reader you have wildly good taste and an incredible sense of humor so I thank you for indulging me.  I chose these because either I loved them, you did or my fans in Romania did, so here we go a trip down memory lane....

This may be my all time favorite photo of cute.  Just bury me alive with cuteness why don't you?

It seems to me that when I write about my very naughty Frenchie my stats go off the charts.  Sometimes I forget that this is the WORLD WIDE web and not just the two of us having a little chat.  This post is out there now, I might as well own it.  This was one of my most popular posts to date titled REDRUM.

This post came in 2nd 'DOG DAY AFTERNOON' where my puppy consumed a whole tube of A + D ointment, yum!:

This tutorial took so much time to do and I really thought it was the bee's knee's.  I got zero, rien, zip comments and figured that it was horrible and kind of shied away from tutes a bit.  Perhaps it just needs a new audience?  It was aptly dubbed, 'WRAPPER'S DELIGHT':

No ''Best of' the Blah, Blah, Blahg would be complete without my very 1st post!  I was so very proud of it and even though it's not my best designed post, it's not half bad.  It's entitled: "GEE, YOUR HOUSE SMELLS TERRIFIC..."
and is a DIY project on aromatic reed diffusers.

I hope you will enjoy perusing the archives as much as I have enjoyed searching them for you. Wishing you all a very happy weekend!  If you are itching for a creative project to sink your chompers into, please join me for the petite Souvenir Foto session starting this weekend.  The details are here.

xoxo,

Miss B.