Stress Monkey of the past

When I was searching for things to blog about while amidst my mini break (and I mean mini), I came across a link to my old live journal account. Back in the days before I had even dreamed of etsy and blogging I, indeed, had a livejournal. I also had great aspirations to become a great webcomic artist! That dream lasted a whole month or so, successfully placing my cartooning career in a shallow grave along with that account apparently. Well - what better time than the present to dig up the past and share a few of my comic gems! I also find them quite suiting to my current situation, since although I am no longer a slave to school work, I am in a constant state of stress requiring said mini break at the beginning of this post! Hurrah! Here we go:

Comic #1 - "Stress Monkey"


My very first web comic! Way to establish a set style and character base kate! I remember a few people not really "getting" the strip so in case you're a little lost as well it isn't that complex. I was stressed out, dreaming of the days when I wasn't, then converting to full stress monkey form dreaming of the days when I wasn't as stressed out. Comic genius I know. I see no reason why this web comic ever failed...

On to comic #2 - "Things"


I think this was about the denial stage of university. By the looks of that scattered to do list (why yes, I wrote epic lists back then too) this was first semester of fourth year. No better time than to forget being an overachiever and dream about my grade 11 physics teacher. Man did he have a dreamy voice...

Hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past! I certainly did! And hopefully I'm enjoying some lovely post concert shopping right about now! Stress monkey no more!

On the way!

Just as I hinted to my facebook fans, I'm finally on the road to making scientific culture pocket mirrors! I have been waffling over this idea for quite some time (look - blog evidence from january!) so I've decided to take the plunge and try them out! Oh, that and I've been promising chandra a foxie one for much too long. So now it's onto deciding which designs make the cut and would be best in 2.25 inch mirrored wonder. Here's a sneak peek at some I've been thinking of:


Yeti will be sure to make an appearance in there as well but I've love to know if there are any other designs you'd swooning to see in the pocket mirror form! After all, it is all about you, and I clearly have no idea what designs and items will sell!

Oh! In other news, I'm on the road today! I'm off to vancouver with my dearest friends lindsay and fraser for a few days of much needed r&r and mumford and sons:


Yay! Nothing like a little banjo to spice up the end of may! Plus by the time we make our way back, fraser will be 30 (I know, I'm dating an old man) to add to the excitement. But not to worry you'll still have some scheduled bloggy goodness and I will be back soon enough to mail out any surges of etsy sales (hah) and read any wonderfully appreciated comments! Love to know what you all think about the mirrors! See you all thursday!

Craft Show Reminisce

When I started selling pinback buttons in my etsy shop many moons ago I wanted to come up with a cute card for them to arrive in. Since the cilliated bacillus is closest to my heart (and goes with the whole "scientific culture" theme), I decided he was going to be my best bet for packaging! After quite a few trial and error moments I've finally got the image where I'd like it, and if you've ever had the lovely pleasure of receiving a button or magnet set you should be familiar with this card:


The empty speech bubble lets me customize what happy little germ is saying depending on the buyers request (or he get's a standard "enjoy" note if not specified). Lovely! I'm really pleased with these little cards and as you can imagine, I wanted to continue this extra touch detail when I did my very first craft show back at the beginning of the month!

I decided against packaging up all my button sets since I had no clue what I'd sell (or how much I wouldn't sell) so I figured transferring this image onto paper bags would be a great option and solve any packaging issues I might come across during the craft sale. Since shoving 40 paper bags through my antique printer wasn't an option, fraser (and his B.F.A skills) came to my rescue by carving me my very own set of lino stamps! Hurrah! So after a little trial and error (yet again - seems to be the crafting theme), flipping the images on the computer, and a little skill, custom stamps were born! I am still super stoked on how cool they are so even though my craft show is well over, I wanted to share them with you anyways:


Even in mirror image they're cute! I can't wait to find a little extra time to practice making some stamps on my own! And lucky for you I only ended up giving away one bag at the show leaving 39 prime specimens to photograph and blog about:


Yeah! At least I'll have my bag option all figured out for my next show (if I ever do one). In the mean time, I'll keep focusing on making more products to fill those bags up with. On with the crafting!

Five Questions

Wonderful news! Tmcphoto has posted an exclusive interview with yours truly! Read all about it on her blog (link). Lovely! Also begs the question - what would your three design wishes be?

Friday Find: Baby Threadless

This weeks find comes from the wonderful suggestion of my ever-lovin' sis. If you aren't up on all the hot gossip (okay - not that hot of gossip), leslie is preggers and being in the secluded (sort of) north of british columbia, she's resorted to online shopping for cute baby attire! Being a threadless fan for the last few years (I have racked up a good 15+ t-shirts now) I was pleased to find out they have a kids section too! So behold - a selection of my favourite threadless onsies:


How cute! Leslie even purchased two of these (I'll leave it up to your imagination which two she's bought) and as it happens I also have one of these designs in adult shirt form! Hurrah!

In case you aren't familiar with the threadless site (which you soon will be by reading this), it's an online t-shirt company from chicago with an ongoing open call for shirt designs. Anyone can submit ideas and if you're chosen you get your design printed and a butt load of cash! Double win! New designs and reprints come out every monday and once they're sold out they're gone so you need to snag them quickly. They have a plethora of witty, spectacular choices and I'm so pleased to see that they are available for wee ones too! Your baby will be the best dressed smithereen for sure leslie! For sure!

Return of the Doily

Doilies seem to be making quite the comeback in the craft world and the crafty blogosphere seems to be scattered with sweet doily tutorials! Charlotte's fancy shared this great project on dying doilies using food colouring, which if you haven't seen in your internet travels you should totally check out:


What great ideas to use them as gift wrap! And dying them looks super easy (assuming you have a kitchen, dishes, and food colouring at your finger tips - hint hint dad - get that blasted kitchen done please!) I also quite enjoyed martha's tips on cutting up doilies to make cards too (and we all know how much I love my stationary and post!):


And while we're on the topic of doilies and cards - here's a little creation I came up with using the doily that came with my guacamole a few weeks ago (and yes - I collect my craft supplies from all sorts of interesting sources):


Boy I love that card! Nothing perks up mail more than pastels, doilies, and Captain Kirk! Almost frame worthy in fact! But don't start checking your mail boxes hoping to receive this gem - it's already been sent out. Looks like I need to go to Boston Pizza more often for nachos to stock up on more doilies! Or I could just go to the store and buy some...but that involves less melted cheese so I like the first idea better...

Collected: Music

Let the collections continue with a peek into my world of music! Until recently I wasn't much of a cd connoisseur, actually I'm still not really. Why you may wonder? Because there is nowhere to get awesome (not main stream) cds in kamloops! Seriously....nowhere! The one sort of cool shop closed down a while ago (jim told me that is because I didn't buy enough albums from them) and there is no way I'll find anything worth while at wal-mart of future shop. Ick. So itunes, concerts, and lindsay's "trevor the great kelowna connection" seem to be where it's at. That being said, I have racked up my fair share of music from shows (even a few signed ones). Take a look at the stack I've compiled since the birth of this blog:


Lovely! But truly mp3 format is the way to go in my books, so let's depart from the physical and look at the digital:


Ooo! A precious limited time sneaky look at my desktop! And my itunes! Perhaps some zooming in is in order:


That's right. 8102 songs. So even if you were scoffing at the tiny pile of plastic at the beginning of this post, don't worry. I think 20.7 days of music is enough to consider it a collection (although I'm sure many of you out there would top that number). And even if I am one to listen to a song on repeat for a few days (obsessive much? perhaps...), I do appreciate having such a great vast musical selection to go to when the mood strikes. Although after seeing that zoomed in rufus wainwright number who needs that much music when you have him? (oh and cbcr3...) *sigh*

Bag tutorials for all!

Nothing like a little dose of free internet purse tutorials to spice up your Tuesday! Thanks to the sweet link love from how about orange - here are 12 great bags to chose from:

So many fantastic options! (Click on the image above to get individual pattern links). If only I had more time (and a better fabric selection)!! I spent a while trying to decide on which one I'd like to tackle first (and by tackle I mean ask mom to help me make) and my first reaction was to do this one:


I love that honey comb and the single pleats! It's a great size bag for toting around just enough crap too (haha - too bad I'm serious). But I quickly realized that I probably wouldn't be able to find such amazing fabric and a leather strap so I converted my tutorial attention to this one:


You still get the visual interest of a few pleats and that great bag size! I just need to find some killer fabric to put this pattern to work, which hopefully will surface with a quick trip to ikea at the end of the month (oh yeah lindsay and fraser - can we stop by ikea?)! I'd actually really like to use that grey leaf print fabric my mom's purse is made from so hopefully ikea still has a yard or two kicking around! Sweet! We'll have (sort of) matching bags mom! We're that cool! Leslie will be so jealous...

Suggested Shops!

To my wonderful surprise (since clearly I'm not up with the times of tech updates), etsy now has a "suggested shops" feature! This most wonderful invention is located with your favourite items tab and is like your very own personal shopper! Just what I need... You can read about the update here or check it out for yourself! Here is a nice screen-shot of my current suggestions (well page 1 of them anyways)



It is a great personalized alternative to the old gift guide feature that got the boot a while back. I am quite confident these suggestions will in fact lead to many many etsy purchases on my part, and maybe if I'm lucky some sales in my shop! Oh! What a thought!

Sunday Update

Well since I didn't get around to dual postings on friday it looks like sunday is the the lucky winner of the extra blog post! Exciting things to chat about include: (oOo! A list!)

1. It's just chemistry!

TwighlighterVA was kind enough to include my labware pinback buttons in her lovely treasury of chemistry related goodies! What great geeky items etsy has and what a wonderful bunch to be included in! Take a peek at the live version here or glance at the picture above if you missed the listing. What fun!

2. Etsy Sales!

Not sure what triggered it, but my super slump of sales in the shop seems to be over! I've made 7 sales in just the last 2 days! How lovely! Perhaps this has to do with that treasury I mentioned above....except that my labware buttons haven't moved...hmm...

3. Bizarre Bazaar!

I've applied to become a part of Kamloops' thursday crafty event the "bizarre bazaar" held at the court house all summer long from 12 - 7. No word back yet on whether I've got in, but the president of the Kamloops Art Council did email me back so hopefully my chances are good! I'll be sure to keep you all updated so you can plan your road trips to Kamloops around my crafting schedule (haha)

4. Salmon Arm!

Speaking of road trips, I had a great one to Salmon Arm the other day! On the drive there and took my camera out of my bag to snap a few shots when I quickly realized that I should have checked my battery power before I left. Oh dear! No photographic evidence! But highlights of the trip included many great fabric finds, super cute sparrow silver earrings, and baby emus! Oh they were cute! Hopefully I'll have full battery power next time so I can show you all...

Urchin fun!

A while ago I stumbled across another great etsy shop called urchin bags! I instantly fell in love with their sweet recycled goods, especially the "peata pocket"made from re-purposed bike inner tubes. Oh! And best of all - the shop is from Duncan BC! Yay! Sort of local! And the prices are killer! Check out a little selection of items:


Super awesome! So you must be thinking, "kate - it isn't friday, why are you doing this post today?" (Or maybe you're thinking that?). Well - I noticed in urchin's shop announcement that they're heading on a Canada wide bike tour from june - sept so I had to jump on the opportunity and snag one of these little pockets before june arrives and they're unavailable! So now this post went from a "what a great shop I found" to a "look at the cool stuff kate got in the mail" one. Ahha! So yeah, even if it took me a while (and assistance from my sister) I decided on one and it arrived just 3 days after I bought it (yay Canada Post! for once...). Take a look:


So darling! I was really waffling the two pouches I featured in that image above, but leslie told me, "kate, if you're going to carry around a recycled bike tire it is going to be a statement piece so go bold." So coral it is. Plus I really like the blue and orange markings on the tire part. Now to casually work this into a summery outfit and I'll be set! What do you think?

Sushi Cupcakes please!

Nom nom! Even though I would never want fish flavoured cakes, glue and glitter's sushi style cupcakes would really hit the spot:


I love the little ginger and wasabi fondant detail on the plate too! I'm always in awe of the creative things people can do with cupcakes and really wish I had a kitchen to get baking in (hint hint dad!). The most creative thing I ever really did with decorating cupcakes is these conversation heart inspired ones from a valentine's day biochemistry club bake sale back in university:


Not too shabby for a first attempt. I'd like to say I have a pretty good handle on piping with icing - but not exactly the most wild and crazy of a design. Alas, in the mean time I guess I'll just drool over these sushi ones and get brainstorming...

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...

Orchid Update

Recall that post I did a while ago about how my mom's plant neglect allowed her to get her orchid to rebloom? (No? Look here then). Well it's one month later and that orchid is still going strong! All four of the flowers are in bloom too! Take a look:


Perhaps it was worth the three years of ugly plant to get this result? Or perhaps not...Either way apparently I made a blog post out of it! Haha.

In other news I've decided that showcase some of my mom's flowers for the days I go on vacation (well, if that ever happens). I'd really like to keep this "a blog post a day" thing going strong and I figure that will be a nice way to keep you entertained (somewhat) and let me enjoy a blog free weekend or two! Mom - I sure hope your garden is ready for this - by the state of that half dead apple tree and leaf-less grapes I'd be weary! We'll see though...it's just an idea in the works for now...unless anyone has any other great ideas? Or wants to write a few guest posts??? (hint hint scientific culture and leslie....)

Collected: Rings

Stage two in my collections posts - the wonderful world of jewelry! In particular? Rings! Wonderful rings! What better way to add a little interest, colour, or shine to an outfit than with the subtle (or bold) statement of a ring. This collection isn't quite as old as my pinback button one, but I do have a few pieces I've been holding on for a few years at least. When I went to take a picture of my assortment I quickly realized that the hello kitty Chinese take out tin I keep them in isn't the best for showcasing...but even if you can't really differentiate they do look pretty:


Yup. Looks like a silver mass. So I decided to set them out on the ring holder fraser made for my fabric rings at my craft show. Much better. Take a look:


I love how each one holds little memories of when I got it, or where from, or what I did one day while wearing one! Such fun! And apparently I really like silver...and turquoise... It also made me realize that if I used this doweling as my ring stand I've got a long way to go before filling it. Especially at this angle:


Perfect! Room to grow! So fraser - feel free to get buying (size 6). Wait, this feels familiar, I've written about this before (here actually). Rats. I'm a broken record. Oh well, I'll build up my ring collection slowly over the next decade then. If only I had unlimited funds...

Pencil eraser stamp tutorial!

Creature Comforts was kind enough to share a sweet pencil eraser stamp tutorial with the world so in case you haven't seen it, I thought I'd spread the love and share it with all of you! What better way to spend an afternoon than with a quick and simple crafty project that you can use when you're being an awesome penpal! Hooray! Oh. Side note - I was a miserable pen pal for quite a while but I sent out a few "forgive me for not writing enough" postcards that will hopefully tide my post-y-pals over for a while...Perhaps long enough for me to make a few of these! Take a looksie (click on image to link to tutorial):


Super awesome! Even though it looks pretty sweet on those gift tags, I'm not totally sold on making the triangle, especially since I made the pennant stamp roller I showed you all back in november (wow that was a while ago). Maybe a heart would be better? Or naked woman riding a porpoise (yes mom - that line was for you). We'll see. In the mean time I'm on the search for butt loads of pencils with erasers to destroy! Hurrah!

Spring into pictures!

The other day I was talking to my sister about my blog and she suggested I take more pictures of my life and share them in blog form. Since I'm always up for bloggy ideas, I decided to try give it a try. Plus with the weather finally perking up it is much easier to take a few non-percy shots for a change. So let me take you on my journey of my day off...

Let's begin by waiting for my dear friend jim to arrive so we could walk to the park with his dog brandy. It's super nice out and I snap some shots of some flowers in mom's yard:


How nice! Alice even made it in there! I took close to 30 pictures and these are the only 3 that were up to par...looks like I need some practice... But look! Jim is here! And so is brandy (excited as ever) let's head to the park! (time to insert cute animal pictures)


Aww...aren't they cute! Oops...looks like a percy shot got in there after all....(he is so adorable!). So we walk over to the park where we quickly get booted out by bylaw officers telling us, "there are no dogs allowed in McGowan Park!". Shucks. On the stroll home we spotted a cat that might rival percy for "el gato diablo" status:


That's quite the snarly glare...cute yes, but snarly. So time to take the dog home and instead go downtown for some delish hot house mexican:


Nummers! What a great day!

Okay - this photo journalism thing might take a bit of work - but I gave it a go! And, to be completely honest, the day off was pretty sweet (minus the getting kicked out of the park bit). We also saw a girl wearing silly glasses that had a fake mustache attached but I wasn't quick enough on the draw to capture them. Next time...assuming I don't scare you all away with this post...any suggestions for me?

Who ya gonna call?

Thanks to the wonderfulness of the internet I've come across a site that tells you what the number one song was the day you were born. Why would anyone want to know this you ask? Well, you can never have too much random trivia! Plus just think about how cool you'll be when your song comes on and you can awe everyone with your amazing knowledge! My song? Well the #1 song on August 25th 1984 was...


Yup - Ghostbusters (by Ray Parker Jr) Who knew! And what an awesome tune to be on the top of the charts on such a wondrously historic day! Oh before I forget, here's the link to the site so you can check out your very own bday song. What gem did you get?

Paper Pom Pom Garland

Clearly I have not had enough pom pom related posts going on these days, so here's one courtesy of Hambly Screen Prints! A paper pom pom garland! Take a look:


Pretty cool! Simple too! Check out the tutorial - all you just need one of those large circle punches and a little spare time! Although I must say I am a big fan of the pom, the paper pom isn't quite as cozy as the yarn pom poms I drool over. Mind you I bet you could use these little paper ones in some of the other pom pom tutorials I've shown you for extra exciting results! Imagine rainbow pussy willow paper pom poms? Ooo! The possibilities! Just bring on the spare time please!

Fuzz Therapy

No better way to cheer up a friday than with a little calvin and hobbes inspired fuzz therapy. This is by far the most memorable calvin and hobbes comic in my life and its message is a good one - petting fuzzy kitty bellies is a great way to feel better:


So here's my favourite kitty looking particularly cute (even with that snaggle tooth sticking out):


Oh Percy, if only you weren't so evil! Happy friday everyone!

Friday Find: Miniature Rhino

This week's find I was introduced to thank to the Kamloops Daily News! (I know - talk about an abnormal source!). There was an article on the rise of DIY with an image of a custom tree stump embroidery hoop used as a wedding memorial piece (found here). My mom saw it and though I'd enjoy it so she ripped out the page and saved it for me. To my surprise, a few days later I saw the same embroidered piece while searching on etsy! Miniature Rhino is a wonderful shop that not only carries charming embroidery, but also photography, letter paraphernalia, and an assortment of paper goods. My personal favourite is the tree stump embroidery (this time without the wedding date):


What simple and powerful designs with glorious muted tones perfect to match any decor! And who knew the kamloops newspaper was so up on the times of internet handmade goods? Just goes to show you - etsy pops up everywhere! Way to go crafting world!

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...

Collected: Pinback Buttons

I've been wanting to do a little blog feature on some of my collections for a while now since:

1) loads of blogs seem to be doing that these days and I just love reading about them
2) I have a butt load of things I collect (like cards! from this post)
and
3) no better way to peek into "the life of kate" than to catch a glimpse into "the mass amounts of things kate collects"! (And that is what blogging is all about right?)

So let's start off the collections posts with one of my oldest obsessions - pinback buttons! I've been holding onto these from before I can remember and they've accumulated all over the house (yup - sewing room, craft totes, multiple bulletin boards, closets...you get the idea...). Pins are great! They don't take up a huge amount of space, they're bright and fun, they don't break the bank, and they are awesome keepsakes from different concerts, events, and trips! Take a gander of sampling of my collection:


I guess you can imagine why I was compelled to make such an elaborate pinback button line in my etsy shop! Buttons are wonderful! My collection used to grow much more quickly back when thimble had their sweet "button of the month club" (shown in the lower right corner), but continues to expand nonetheless (not to worry). Pulling out all my buttons actually really made me want to start that shadowbox button frame I was talking about a few weeks back (here), but have a few too many things ahead of it on the to do list for now. But hey, next time you see a super awesome pinback button (or two) be sure to pick them up! Even if you never wear them (ahem - like me?), they're a great thing to hold onto...or you can give them to me...I wouldn't mind...I promise...

Have you ever FELT like crafting?

I'm quite the fan of felt. It comes in great colours, is relatively inexpensive, and doesn't fray like crazy like most fabrics do. Oh felt! So I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was when I saw this exciting felt tutorial over at martha's craft department:


Okay, so it sort of looks like some sort of alien topographical map, but no - it is a scrap felt rug! How charming! You should definitely check out the tutorial and attempt it if you've got the time! And scrap felt for that matter! I seem to use up every little piece I can get my hands on making felt finger puppets - but I'm quickly discovering that finger puppets are way too much effort for what they're worth (and I do enjoy projects I can actually make a profit on much more). *Sigh* But felt is pretty much the awesomest medium to craft with so maybe I'll try to find some extra time. And although the green topography rug is pretty sweet I'd really prefer to do this one:


Yup, much more my style! Smaller project with a higher chance of instant results - plus its tea and tree related! What's not to lose? All you need is some felt, glue, and scissors! Sounds awesome! Check out the stump trivet tutorial here! Oh martha (except actually martha's fantastic design team), what brilliant craft ideas will you come up with next?

Tasteful Revamp

Nothing like a little tasteful revamp to spice up some old china! Check out these beauties courtesy of whorage and craft:


I must say the star wars themed items are pretty darned classy. Who wouldn't want a little more Darth in their decor? Beat Up Creations certainly knows how to geek things up. Take this storm trooper piece - looks like a great fusion of girly flowery prettiness with just enough weaponry to keep the gents pleased. Looks like I'm headed straight for marital bliss with my future decorating skills! Or I'll just solidify my geek status...meh - either way I can't loose!

How to: Plantable Paper Flowers

In celebration of mother's day, here is an awesome plantable paper flower tutorial from how does she.com for you to enjoy! I'm sure my mom would like it, if only I got my act together and actually made it instead of writing about making it...


Aren't they cute? Simple too! Plus they have seeds glued to them so once you're done admiring them you can throw them in the dirt, give them a quick drink or water, and enjoy! Or if you really hate them you get the joy of violently throwing them in the garden and stomping on them (while cursing your awful children)? Either way you win! Happy mother's day mom! You're the best!

Decoy Post!

As you may recall, last month my tea button set was featured in a mother's day treasury on etsy! I loved the treasury so much that I purchased something from one of the other featured etsians and challenged my readers to guess which item that was. Well, you all pretty much pegged me and at long last the exciting wait for it to arrive is over! Check out the wonderful owl brooch I got from decoylab:


I love it even more in person and it was do darned affordable! I took advantage of the $2 shipping and threw in another pin I am equally swooning over:


That little hedgehog is so cute! Both the pins are amazingly high quality and their neutral bamboo colouring makes them a perfect addition to (almost) any outfit! Sweet! And to top off all the etsy purchasing wonderment they also sent me an awesome free postcard with the pins! Eee! Nothing beats free post related goods:


I think it is quite obvious who will end up getting this one, but I won't spoil the surprise and keep you all waiting. Oh, except that I am apparently really easy to figure out (hence how you all figured out I snagged the owl pin from that treasury)...oh well...my lips are sealed...

Needle Book and Post!

I figure since I've seen this tutorial all over the blogosphere in the last few days I'd add it onto my friday blogging since:

1) chances are you've already seen it
2) if you haven't - sweet! Enjoy! I think it's awesome
and
3) if you have is an add on to an already posted friday so go back and read my friday find and pretend this never happened...

So here it is - the most darling little letter needle book tutorial from em ay kay ee:


I love how simple this tutorial is and is a much better than that scrap of orange felt I keep my needles on now! Plus it combines my love for crafting and post! Double win! Now (as always) I just need to find time to make this one...hmm...