quite the culture

Looks like my goal of blogging more hasn't been the most successful but sometimes life just gets in the way it seems. I've been having one heck of an unproductive time since moving back to Kamloops as our home renovations are still in progress (but ALMOST done), we haven't actually finished unpacking (eep), and my chronic illness has progressed to the point where I can't work and trying to rest and feel better has completely taken over my life. Oh dear! 

On the bright side of things - I have had lots of time to read loads of scientific studies and novels on dealing with chronic illness (seriously - it's great. I love research) and I got the opportunity to make a whole whack load of little pseudomonas microbe plushies to send to some lovely ladies (and their lab cohorts) for xmas! My pinched nerve pain has left my left arm/side very limited so these cuties took quite a bit longer than my usual pace but I did it! And boy am I ever happy with how they turned out:

I hope these darlings are enjoying their new homes in the warm hands of those San Francisco pseudomonas lab geeks! I even made a nice little stop motion video showing these little opportunistic pathogens reproducing! Check it out!

Quite the pseudomonas culture growth on my couch today. Now to ship these babies off to their new home in California!

A video posted by Kate McCurrach (@scientific_culture) on Nov 11, 2014 at 11:46am PST

Hehe! We can send our thanks to Fraser for that one since it was his idea to do the video in the first place. Thanks hubs!

That little spout of creative progress left me hankering for more so I've been working on crafting up all sorts of lovely creations for xmas presents this year. Not working has tightened by budget quite a bit so I decided I may as well use some of the craft supplies I have on hand and make things! Unfortunately that also means I can't share my creations with you until after santa arrives - but I can tell you I've really been stretching the old creativity muscles and making all sorts of different and unique things. Oh and not to worry - I am still rolling along my slow road to recovery and hopefully be all healed up sooner rather than later! Hooray!

knit specimen

If you're a regular reader here on the blog you may have noticed I have a quirky sense of decorating style. I love texture, I love homemade stuff, and I love this knit brain in a jar:

(source)

Isn't it spectacular? Who doesn't need one of these? I think it would look just charming on a shelf in my new craft/sun room and think I need to find this perfect shade of brain tissue pink yarn so I can make my own version! I'm thinking I can just make a big long spool knit string and sew it into something brain shaped - what do you think? Can I rack your brain? 

my own rubber stamps!

I've been thinking about getting my own rubber stamps made for quite some time. I thought they'd be super handy for packaging, craft show bags, and etsy sales but was a little hesitant taking the plunge. A few years ago I tried to find a place to get stamps made in Kamloops with no luck! Rats! I found a few custom stamp places online but wasn't pleased with the pricing and really didn't want to go with one of those self inking plastic stamps. Add in the hefty shipping costs and wait times and my stamp dreams were on the back burner yet again. That is, until now!

As it turns out Victoria has its very own custom stamp and engraving shop just over the Bay Bridge with reasonable pricing, friendly staff, and options galore! Hooray! Check out my new custom rubber stamp friends I got made:


Aren't they just perfect? I'm beyond thrilled with how they turned out and can't wait to use them all the time! The url stamp will be extra handy with packaging (since I often resort to hand printing my website on the back of things) and can combine the two a nice touch on my paper bags I give out at craft shows:


I love it! I left the speech bubble empty so I can customize the message as I want and may even resort to using my stamps for the cards I use to package etsy sales. I also thought it would be fun to add the little happy bacillus on envelopes too:


Yay! What fun! If you're ever interested in getting your own rubber stamps made I totally recommend the guys over at Custom Stamp & Engraving LTD and they even ship worldwide! So what do you think? Any thoughts on other uses for my new stamps?

a very special etsy request

Once in a while I get messages on etsy asking for special orders. Even though I would love to accept every one, unfortunately some of them are outside my creative reaches. The other day however, I got one request that was easy to fill and boy was it ever fun! Two wonderful scientists from Edinburgh asked me to make individually packaged magnets as favours for their wedding reception guests! I was so stoked to jump on the order and printed out some special mini "thanks for coming" cards:


Yay! The perfect size for one of the science geek themed magnets Emma chose (robots, dinoaurs, and scientists)! Take a peek:


So much fun! I love the idea of having little illustrated magnets as wedding favours and (of course) am extra thrilled that they chose me to make them! Of course I did have some help making such a massive order...


Yay! Pajama magnet making party with Fraser! What a great guy he is (and ever so helpful)! Thanks Fraser! and thanks to Emma for letting me take part in your magical sciencey wedding! What do you think? What would your ideal wedding favour be?

science lolz

Happy caturday lovely blog readers! I keep telling Fraser how much we need a kitten in our lives. I mean, sure he is very allergic and we aren't actually allowed pets in our building, but think of the blogging possibilities! I could name him Carl, make ridiculous crafted costumes for him he would totally hate, pretend he is our feline child, and pretty much spend my spare time squeeling over his fluffy little belly while following him around with a camera! Sounds like a dream doesn't it? No? Shucks. Oh well, in the mean time we'll stick to some very helpful science themed lol catz:


*Eeee!* So cute!!! I think sticking to the pictures may be best for now. I can get my own dose of fuzz therapy without inflicting allergic reactions and having to deal with the reality of litter boxes, claws on furniture, or an ungodly amount of hair everywhere. What do you think? Don't you just want to pick up convex and concave kitties and snuggle them?

Let the crafty preparation continue...

Things are remaining super busy in my life as I frantically spend every waking moment preparing for my upcoming craft show. My last fabulous finds show in november was super fun and successful and as soon as I was invited to sell at the spring sale I jumped on the opportunity! I fondly remembered all the fun people I met, all the customer feedback/showers of compliments I received, and what a positive experience it was for me. I didn't take the huge amount of work/slave labor into consideration and since the last show was so successful I didn't really think about how much product I needed to recreate for my next sale! Whew! Well now that I've spent the last month trying to get a head start on crafty preparation and not getting very far I've decided to kick my crafting into high gear and get creating! So far I've managed to restock my illustrative goods (buttons, magnets, mirrors, post cards, stickers, and the like) and now successfully finished making more plush microbes! That's right - previously sold out e.coli and pseudomonas have rejoined the adorable infectious crew (and in full force):


Woo hoo! Check out that tower of wide set eye smiles! I ordered more safety eyes off etsy in january (since you certainly can't find them in kamloops) and once they arrived I started plush making! After many hours of cutting, sewing, stuffing, and finishing they are done and not a moment too soon! The plush microbes aren't a huge seller of mine online (the shipping is pretty much the same as the germ cost - darn you canada post) but they do sell quite well at shows which is awesome. After all who wouldn't want a little chlamydia, e. coli, pseudomonas, or anthrax as a present? I'm in - especially since these are the cute non infectious versions. Who is your favourite?

A sheep in the hand

When I started selling on etsy back in 2008 I was overjoyed to join the mad scientists of etsy (msoe) group! It gave me the wonderful opportunity to meet and share with other science loving crafters and have some fun participating in group events. Each month we do a crafting challenge where each member is invited to make an item based on the month's sciencey theme. February's theme was Keith Campbell (one of the scientists in charge for cloning dolly the sheep) and I was thrilled to get back in the swing of doing the monthly challenges! Since I am a sucker for felt, brooches, and cuteness I decided to make a dolly felt brooch - take a look:


Isn't she cute? I am really happy with how she turned out and I especially like how her face looks:


She's got wide set eyes and everything! Plus I am a strong believer that brooches are highly overdue for a comeback so hopefully someone will snap this pin up from my shop! Heck, if it's successful maybe I'll even start a line of felt brooch creatures! Any ideas? What do you think?

Why, Hello Newton and Franklin!

After many weeks of being sold out of way too many button/magnet sets I'm finally stocked back up! And boy oh boy, do I ever have buttons now - take a look:


This is officially the largest batch of buttons I've managed so far and I'm hoping they last me a little longer this time (or at least manage to keep me stocked up for my craft show in march)! This time I even managed to add some new friends to the button crew as well. I've had quite a few emails asking me to remake my set of five famous scientist finger puppets and although I highly doubt I will find enough time to take those on (they are ultra time consuming) I decided to turn my trio of scientists magnets into a quintet! Let me introduce you to sir isaac newton and rosalind franklin:


Hooray! These were some of my quickest buttons to design too - although I did have the puppets to base them off of so I guess that explains their speediness a bit. My original scientist set (including curie, einstein, and darwin) have been stirring up some attention with their appearance in treasuries, blog posts, and on etsy's facebook page/twitter feed so I figured I may as well feed into their popularity! Check out the full crew:


Hehe! I'm really pleased with how they turned out! I'm planning on offering the scientists as a set of five magnets (or button upon request) just as soon as I figure out the best way to package them. Then I just need to take a few pictures and get a listing up (easier said than done - believe me)! I did have some fun getting images of them for this post though - especially because they look so cute holding hands:


Aww - what good little scientists they are! What do you think? Who's your favourite scientist?

Friday Find: Nervous System

Thank you suggested shops of etsy for pointing out the wonderful science related goodness of Nervous System! It is actually quite the interesting shop that uses computational programming to create complex designs inspired by nature and then turn them into jewelry for you! Yay! Take a look at some of their goods:


I love how amazingly intricate they are and how each piece tells a story about the wonder and awesomeness of science! The pieces above are inspired from a whole range of biological sources including botanty (leaf vein earrings, algal bloom necklace), invertebrate (radiolaria protozoa rings), and immunology (dendrite brooch)! Man science is cool!

Friday Find: The Crafty Hedgehog

While strolling the internet isles of the maker's market science section I came across a darling shop that sells knitted dissections called aKNITomy. How charming! And educational to boot! I quite like the bisected human head:


Quite the textural masterpiece! And if you'd prefer the dissection of non humans, check out the frog, alligator, and lab rat:


Mmm...sort of disturbing...but charming nonetheless! Turns out the crafty hedgehog has a shop on etsy too with loads of knitted goods to chose from! You can even get DIY kits to make your own dissected buddies just in case you don't like paying someone else to do your knitting for you! Cool! If only I knew how to knit...

Mad Scientist Baby Blocks

With my sister's first baby on the way I've had my eyes peeled looking for great baby purchases. As you can imagine, I totally couldn't resist these awesome mad scientist baby blocks from the maker's market:


That tentacle block is for sure my favourite! I like their off -beat sort of educationalness too! Nothing better than some geekiness to raise a well rounded child right? or a social outcast...either way...

Painted Molecules

I am quite fond of supporting new ways of fusing science and art and no better than the painted molecules of alexander kobulnicky! Check out glucose:


I must say I am more drawn to his more biological molecule pieces than plain chemistry ones, and the one for carbon monoxide both made me laugh and feel really sad (take a peek). Good thing it is sold so I don't need to waffle over whether or not I need it in my life. They really inspire me to take out some paints and get creating! Anyone else feel that way?

Welcome back Pseudomonas!

Looks like double blog post Fridays are all the rage so I better keep up with the trend! I'd like to welcome back a nice culture of anthropomorphic pseudomonas aeruginosa to my shop after a brief period of being sold out. Check out these adorable little dudes:


I am so pleased how all their little wide set eye smiles turned out! I even redid the photos of them in my shop so customers can get the freshest most accurate image of the product! So cute! And bonus - one more item crossed off of my "craft show to do make" list! I do have my doubts that P. aeruginosa will really be a huge seller at the craft sale, but you never know, his more popular buddies anthrax, chlamyida, and e.coli will be there to accompany him and might tweak some sciencey interest! Or just someone who likes miny green coloured jelly bean smile plush? Sure...that works too...

Molecular DNA Art!

A while back I did a post about dna 11's sweet gel electrophoresis art pieces, which in all honestly, I'm still super in love with. The article caught the attention of Dr. Rich Taylor, a scientist in a small art studio that offers a scientific art based on the atoms in your DNA. He asked if I would write a follow up article to my first DNA art one and I aim to please! (I think it's awesome that someone actually emailed me with a blog post idea by the way - Leslie! take note please). Similar to dna 11's method, dna-images uses your very own genetic blueprints to make personalized artwork, this time to the molecular level! Take a look at a few samples:


I think it's pretty awesome how you can get all of that biological goodness from a little swab from your cheek! After all, DNA is pretty much the coolest thing on the planet, it's about time we celebrate it in art form!

MSOE FB FP

I've been a proud member of the mad scientists of etsy (msoe) team ever since I started selling on etsy back in october of 2008. It's a great group of scientists and science enthusiasts who sell their wares over etsy and I've had such a good time being part of the team. We have monthly science-related challenges and interesting science-related features and interviews on our blog too! This year we've opted to split up the team tasks and thanks to Julie D'Arcy - we now have a facebook fan page! And boy was I ever surprised and honored to be included in the profile picture! Take a look:


Isn't that awesome! My cute little lab ware buttons are officially one fourth representing the msoe on facebook! Yay! I'm excited to see how the fan page goes over and hopefully it will draw a little more attraction to the group.

The fact that my labware pins were picked also reminded me how insanely popular they have been from my new wave of pinback button designs. Seriously! I'm almost sold out already and they've barely been available a month now! The lab ware postcard set also sold out quickly. Whew! Yay! But whew! Obviously I'll make more of the buttons (in fact I have a top secret new and extra exciting plan for my pins), but I'm not certain of what to do with the postcard situation! I've had a few requests for reprints (bethany = tea, linds = veg) which is awesome but I'm not sure what else to do! Looks like list time!

Questions that come to mind include:

- Do I mass order sets so I have loads on stock? (good for craft sales too but bad for the pocket book)

- Which sets do I get reprinted (obviously tea, veg, lab ware - but what else)?

- Should I change up any of the designs? Add new ones?

- Should I remarket them as art cards over post cards? (I like the dual option - but I think ppl would be more willing to pay $8 for art than post)

ACK! Too many decisions! Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated...

Mini Moo Order Freebies!

A few days ago my moo order arrived with a wonderfully charming box full of my custom created moo minicards! I had a great time playing with my wide set eye smile characters and transforming them into my latest promo freebie! Take a peek at the mini bookmark/gift tag goodness:


Man they are cute! I'm really pleased with how they turned out and think they will be a great addition to my etsy orders! I'm not so secretly hoping this will be turn into a successful marketing tool for my shop and blog but only time will tell...any thoughts?

Friday Find: Cleaner Science

I saw this item when I was surfing the science geekery listing on etsy and couldn't help but fall in love! Cleaner Science puts their knowledge of 4-way isolation bacterial streaking to good use by making petri dish soap! Check it out:


It's even grapefruit scented! Double win! What could be cooler than washing with bacteria? (Well...imaginary bacteria that is...). Another rad thing about this shop? I'm on their favourites list! Awesome! Science geeks unite!

Coolest wall art ever!!!

Bringing a whole new meaning to portrait art, the folks at dna11 combine genetic technique and print to make sweet dna art pieces using your very own dna! Amazingly cool! And it even looks neat:


They're available in a whole range of colours too but that classic black and white is extra appealing if you ask me. Heck, if it wasn't so ridiculously expensive I'd have one of these in an instant! Well when those imaginary lottery winnings come my way you'll all know my first splurge...

Terrarium please!

I've been wanting to make a terrarium for quite some time now - and no better way to kick start a project then with two lovely tutorials from poppytalk and poopscape projects! Hooray! And in all honesty, they don't even look that difficult! And they look so cool:


You just need the following items:

- glass container (complete with lid)
- pebbles (also knowns as "drainage rocks")
- charcoal (activated = best)
- soil (wonderful dirt)
- and plants! I'm really drawn to the moss one (I love moss!)

As an added bonus you can even make (or scavenge) little goodies to add some visual interest to your mini plant world! And if crafting isn't quite up your alley, you can always purchase some terrarium miniatures - in fact etsy has a ridiculous selection! I'm trying to decide on which little house is the cutest at etsy's the little red door (I have a gift certificate for there I won back in december too)! So excting!

And just in case you doubted my moss loving ways - here's some photographic evidence! Here I am checking out the darling little sporophyte and gametophyte generations of some moss on a spirit lake walk with my sis in the charlottes last june! Yup - that's some dedicated moss love:


Now spring/summer just needs to get it's act together and arrive so I can do some moss hunting! Which also means road trip!! (since kamloops' semi arid desert ways aren't good for ample moss selection). Hopefully by that time I'll have a kitchen again and there will be a lovely counter to house my terrarium (and a kitchen sink to water it for that matter)! Yay! Only a mere 4+ months to go! Anyone have any ideas on where to get a cool glass container?

Pinback Peek (5 of 6)

Bring on the science geekery with round 5 of my pinback button design sneak peek! A perfect addition to the "scientific culture" line of adorableness - behold: Lab Ware!


Extra cute anthropomorphic tools used for advancement in science! We've got bunsen burner, glassware (including graduated cylinder, erlenmeyer, and beaker), and my personal favourite (who everyone I seem to show has no idea what he is) micropipette (with lil' buddy epindorph tubes)!! How charming! I'm really hoping this set is popular with the scientist crowd, since that is the niche market I was originally aiming for when I started my shop (hence my shop name...and banner....and items). But I am pretty lousy at guessing which sets will sell best. So I guess only time will tell...