Month: February 2015

crafty garage sale.

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What’s better than discount prices on home goods at a garage sale? Discount prices on craft supplies at an arts & crafts garage sale! I know, mind blown. Over the weekend I visited Handcraft Studio School for their Craft & Art Supply Garage Sale. Studio instructors and collective members brought out their goods for an afternoon of rummaging delight. There were vintage books, unique buttons, colorful fabrics, and a whole lot of other random and unusual finds. These punches were very pleasing. My crafty friend and I spent a few minutes here testing out our favorites, and then purchasing them. I got a tree, just in time for Christmas…in ten months. Ha! Looking through the vintage findings selection trying to come up with a craft project to justify a purchase was just as fun as actually picking something out and buying it. I recently turned my walk-in closet into a craft “room” and have been gradually sorting and cleaning out my craft explosion. Going to one of these events is dangerous when you’re mid-sort! I did a …

allergic reaction.

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If you follow my crafty side business on Instagram, you probably saw my post about being allergic to shellfish…supposedly. Let’s recap. Over the almost 31 years of my life I’ve only had a suspect allergic reaction to crab on two occasions. The first time was maybe six years ago. I had crab and rice with a spicy garlic vinegar dipping sauce for dinner, and that night I was so itchy. I woke up with a swollen face and pain everywhere. Thankfully, I was at my parents’ house and they knew I was experiencing an allergic reaction. The second time was within the past year. It was less severe, but scary because I didn’t have antihistamines on hand. Mind you, though, that I’ve had crab and other shellfish in the in between and was just fine. Allergies are weird. But after this second time I decided I should probably get a skin test to find out the truth! I was scratched with eight different allergens in the shellfish panel, including one control scratch with histamine. The histamine scratch …

food presents.

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Food presents make some of the best presents! My cubicle neighbor gave me some homemade chutney this week. I immediately opened it up and inhaled. It smelled so fresh, and she mentioned it would be very spicy. I couldn’t wait to prepare a meal to be complimented by the chutney. That night I grilled some white fish, seasoned lightly with with onion power, salt, and pepper; sautéed broccolini (from the farmers market food truck!) with turmeric, coriander, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper; and steamed some quinoa. I topped it off with the beautiful bright green cilantro chutney. The intense flavors of garlic and the subtle apple cider vinegar gave the chutney a perfect balance of sweet and salty. The spice – just right! It was enough to surprise your taste buds and then make you want more of it. It was so good, the fiancé went back for seconds, and then finished my plate. I suppose I will need to start placing orders with my co-worker. Feature a favorite condiment below, and by favorite I mean so-good-you-want-to-drink-it-straight. 

i’m on a boat!

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An ukulele-trumpet duo, an ice cream sandwich, and a Yelper walk onto a boat… A perk for being an avid Yelper: mid-week night boat ride! I grabbed a friend and we set sail for a three hour tour (a three hour tour). But first, we got our picture taken with our fancy new captain hats. We boarded at the Berkeley Marina. There were about three hundred on the boat this evening, everyone decked out in their cruise best. On board there were lots of sweets and savories, libations, and entertainment, but the real treat were the stunning views of the city lights and bridges – views you can only get while in the middle of the bay. I’m on a boat! It’s 52 degrees out with a little wind and I’m eating an It’s-it! But no worries, I’ve got three layers of clothing on, a coat, scarf, boots, and a cool captain’s hat to keep me warm. We travelled southbound towards the Bay Bridge. Something about seeing the structure at night and up close is a little magical. After passing …

carving and stamping.

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If you follow me on Pinterest then you’ve probably noticed my craft wish list includes carving stamps and block printing. Well, I finally did it! I got myself a carving block and carving tool, brought out the fabrics and paints that were waiting a long time to be used, and my friend and I met up for a crafternoon over the long weekend. We took inspiration from food and nature, and a pair of my favorite earrings by local artist Feistyelle. After drawing our designs on paper, we pressed the carving blocks on the images to transfer the sketches onto the blocks. The Speedball brand carving blocks we used were soft and easy to cut – perfect for us newbies! The carving tool had interchangeable blades that could be used to cut various curves and edges. Carving out the image took a while, but the process was super satisfying – kind of like the satisfaction you get from picking a scab. Yea… Look at that concentration! With my shape, I was going for leaf with polkadots (because that’s totally normal), but …

hearts & crafts – part two.

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After my Valentine’s pop-up, it was time to relax and recover from the heat. (Direct sun and heat make me so tired!) My fiancé and I picked up some take out and watched the NBA All Star event. I know it doesn’t sound that romantic for Valentine’s Day, but sometimes it’s just nice to be couch bums together. (PS We want to go to Toronto next year to see it live, but eep, negative degree weather! We are truly spoiled in California.) We tried a new-to-us Thai restaurant and stuffed our bellies with basil fried rice, pumpkin curry, pad Thai, and Thai iced teas. After food, I was so into doing nothing that I forgot I was suppose to make some masquerade masks for our evening out. Oops! I whipped up some last minute creations for the pair of us with a couple of plain masks, glitter, ink, feathers, and gems. His mask took all of two minutes to decorate. He wanted a black mask so I dug through my craft supply stash and decided to use stamping ink. …

hearts & crafts – part one.

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Happy day after Valentine’s and three-day weekend! To culminate Valentine’s craft season, I spent the first half of my day vending at the SF Etsy Valentine’s Pop-Up shop. And afterwards, lots of lazy and dancey fun with my sweetheart. If you missed out, here’s the pop-up recap. Fellow SF Etsy team members and shop owners set up shop at Rickshaw Bags in the Dogpatch of San Francisco. My favorite coconut oil lady Angel of Todos Organics was there, and I made some new friends, too. – Pamela Baron Designs, Tangleweeds, The Fiber Florist, Scampi in SF, Glass Elements, and The Heated. The sunshine brought in the crowd and it was a fun shopping day for everyone. At the Feed the Fish co booth I had local love pennants, sweetheart Valentine’s cards, a super gigante banner blowout sale, love note pocket hearts, felt heart and triangle garlands, and surprise boxes in mini and mega sizes; plus, a free pixel heart with any purchase! Yea, it was that awesome. Here are a few snaps from the day. Love pop-up shops as much as I do? Share below …

sweetheart cards.

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Happy Valentine’s Day! I thought I’d share a quick card DIY for you last minute crafters in the house! Spreading love couldn’t be easier… All you need is: decorative card stock for outer layer a light colored card stock for inner layer card stock for heart letter stamps & ink (or markers) string adhesive scissors paper cutter (or ruler & pencil) My favorite place to purchase double sided scrapbook paper is from Scrapbook Territory in Berkeley. It’s a paper wonderland! And if you are a frequent buyer you end up getting percent off of every purchase. If you’re going for a really last minute card, get creative with whatever you have around the house. Cereal boxes, magazine covers, and old folders are good options. For plain papers (e.g. for the inner card layer and the heart) I shop at Michaels. I’m a fan of their Recollections brand papers. Again, you can replace card stock with what you already have, e.g. printer paper. Cut your paper to whatever size you want your card to be. My Valentines are …

gift local.

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Last month was my sister’s birthmonth! Every year I wish I could celebrate with my big sis in person, but since we live hundreds of miles apart, I send birthday care packages instead. This year I put together items from some of my favorite local artisans, plus some handmade goodies. This pouch is by Flowie. It’s pyramid shaped! I’ve never seen a pouch quite like it before. They are made to order — hand-silkscreened on heavy weight cotton canvas with original designs. I love Flowie’s color combinations. I couldn’t resist; I had to get one for myself as well. This hand-bound journal is by my crafty lady friend Anna of Pickypockets Press. I love the woodgrain and the camera image she used. Clean lines and awesome design, plus all of Anna’s journals are made with at least 75% recycled or repurposed materials. Yay for you and yay for Earth! I love making little packages for my loved ones, especially with some local finds. You know, so they can be reminded that so much awesome comes out of the Bay …

printmaking in action.

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I took my first printmaking class last week. It made my brain hurt, but I also learned that if you just let things happen you can create some unique pieces! The lovely Suzi Garner taught the workshop at Sticky Art Lab, where I sometimes volunteer and teach craft demos. We suited up with aprons, had a quick tutorial and off we went to create and experiment. The concept of “printing the negative” was a hard idea to grasp. There were many a confused face, but by the end of it all we had an idea of how this printing business worked and were pleased with our final pieces. Here’s my piece after three runs through the press. I punched out hearts from cardstock and the octopus was a template courtesy of Suzi. The frizzy blobs were made using torn pieces of textured paper. I started with a light yellow, followed by a coral hue, and finished off with a seafoamy color. I personally loved mixing the colors. We used Akua soy based pain which felt greasy, but washed …