Ready Steady Can't Hold Me Back....

Yay! I picked up my labels today from my friendly neighborhood label makers. It's a place owned by a husband and wife, and we've actually become quite good friends! That's one of the perks of living Downtown. As urban and industrial as it is, I'm in the garment district so I'm close to all the manufacturers - labels, trims, etc..

Anyways, here they are. I hand wrote it since I could'nt find a font I liked, and Phil tweaked it all for me on Photoshop. He also picked the perfect brown!

Space, the final frontier

I can finally show you this special commission I've been working on! It's a Star Trek and denim tote. It's for my dear friend Nate in Arizona. He's going to give to his friend in Georgia and she's a big Star Trek fan! :) He's doing the sweetest thing for her - she's turning 40 and he's giving her 40 gifts! How thoughtful and creative is that. I am honored to be one of the 40 presents.

And the exciting thing is, this tote is going to be the first item to have my craftychamploo label in it! They should be ready tomorrow and then off this package goes - along with some other goodies for Nate ;)

Too hot to think of a title for this post

Too...hot...to...blog.....must ...drink...some..water..........just...show..work...in..progress.......

I Voted!

Well ,as you all may know, my little Beagle Zero (Zeroni to those who know her) did not make it into the final 6 of the Old Navy New Mascot contest. But she's still a winner to me! There were over 120,000 dogs in the competion, I don't know the judges were able to choose! But I must say, the final 6 are pretty cute. I voted for this white Norfolk Terrier/Chihuaha named Bean - she's a cutie! But check out the rest of them and vote here!

Aloha Oy!

It's been wicked hot and muggy, yet gloomy lately. And sadly, there is a fire in the hills so the daylight just looks so yellowy/gray and erie. Anyways, all this makes for that lovely sweaty uncomfortable feeling that makes you have to take 2 showers a day.

The highlight of the day was going to Kmart to check out the Martha Stewart Beach towels - 20% off! This weather also makes me dream of lying on the beach in Hawaii - and it makes me want this fabric too. From Reprodepot of course.

Wear your heart on your shoulder..

New bag up in my shop. Gotta get back to watching Return of the King for the 14th time. See ya! ;)

T.G.I.F. (how many times am I gonna use that?)

Still on my Unicorn kick, I LOVE this pillow from My Little Odd Forest

I've always loved things like this - however corny it may be. Highlighting all the attractions and landmarks, it always seemed to make your home state look so "exciting" and glamorous! I always look for hankies, dish towels, or aprons when I'm at flea markets - this pillow is from Uncommon Goods.

And lastly, I've been wanting these Bodum tea cups for a long time. This is the smaller sake version. They're so cool. Double walled insulated glass so you can hold hot tea but not burn your hands. They just make me a little nervous since we have concrete floors now and the glasses look like they could be a little slippery.

Anyways, I took quite a nap today when I got home from work. I still want to get some sewing in tonight - a couple of new purse ideas. Although I don't know if Phil and I can pull ourselves away from the TV!

I got to see my friend Lisa today for a bit - that was fun. Lots of laughs as usual :) She has the most adorable Australian Shepherd that her kids named Napolean - after Napolean Dynamite of course. Have a nice vacation Leese!

To Do.....

Ordered Hillary's Book - check

Watch TV - check

Continue Working on a special commission - check

Watch more TV - check

Clean up - check

Make things messy again - check

Sleep - *sigh*

Japanese Waves

New tote up in my Etsy Shoppe. It took me like all day to make it since I stopped so many times to watch TV!

TV Rots Your Brain - Awesome!!!

Okay, I am all for the handmade craft movement. I love the time and care people are able to put into a project, and the pride they feel when it is finished and admired. Nothing is better than doing creative things with your mind and your own two hands. I'm constantly being inspired by books and nature and the beauty of this world. But can I for a moment, sing the praises of something that may be looked upon as, well, the opposite of all those things?

Our new flatscreen TV!! I mean, our reasoning for this is that we just moved into this loft which is a quarter of the size of our old place, and we simply don't have room for a "regular" TV. The only solution was to have a TV that we could mount on the wall, up and out of the way. We have'nt hooked up our Direct TV yet but we watched our Pirates of the Caribbean DVD last night and it's awesome. So clear and big (37" yikes) I can't wait to be able to watch Everyday Italian, Divine Design, Meerkat Manor, Sugar Rush, Jeff Corwin Experience, Entourage........

I'm not posting a pic of it though cuz that's just too bougie. So here's some fabric that I've been coveting from Kitty Craft but probably won't get. Well of fto continue working on a special project for a special friend............

Sabado Gigante 2!

These have got to be the most amazing quilts I've ever seen in my entire life!!!! I aspire to this greatness. They're from Atelier Akiko. Her things are so beautiful. I found her site while browsing around the equally amazing Wee Wonderfuls!

Well, we quite a fun and full Saturday yesterday. I woke up at around 11:30a (Phil went for an early run) and then leisurely got dressed to go to our friend's house. We had such a lovely day with them. They just bought a beautiful house in the Valley, so we went out there and had lunch and ice cream and went for a nice walk. Then watched a lot of TV and went and had dinner. It was so nice to actually have a Saturday where you did'nt feel like you needed to be anywhere else but where you were.

Well, off to the parents for some Father's Day shaved ice.....

I LOVE YOU-NICORN

Going thru my old sticker album from the mid 80's and renewing my unicorn obsession!

I have a problem....

The problem being that I have too many notebooks/sketchbooks and just little scraps of paper everywhere. I write/draw ideas all over the place when I should really just have one master book! It's just that I've never met a notebook I didn't like - especially the cute ones I get in J-Town. And you have to have some that are small enough to fit in your purse, some that are large enough to rest on your lap, etc. Oh well, it is what it is for now...

This is my cool Star Trek The Next Generation fabric for you NG fans out there!!!

Hmmmm, what shall I make out of this....

My mom is the bomb! In her travels the other day, she picked up these amazing large scraps of fabric for me cuz she knew I would like them... and I do!!!! They're vintage Hawaiian printed cotton and I just love the one with the slippers or zori as we say in Japanese.

June Gloom

I have to say, I've really been enjoying this June Gloom. I know most Southern Californians won't agree with me - but Phil and I have been getting some great walks in. It's nice to not have that sun beating down on you, walking two blocks only to be dripping with sweat!

Anyways, we had a great walk tonight to the Disney Concert Hall and the Ahmanson Theatre area. It was completely deserted and it felt like we were the only two people on earth.

We sat in this little outdoor amphitheatre area for a while just listening to the sound of nothing. It was so much fun. Next time, we're going to bring a little picnic and our sketchbooks!

Sold!!

Oh my gosh! I just sold my first Etsy items. It's very exciting! To think that there is actually someone out there in the world who actually likes what you make (who isn't a member of your family) - well, it's just so thrilling and wonderful! I was able to get another tote up in my shop today too. Thanks for looking!

Brand New Bag

New tote in my Etsy Shoppe

(update: SOLD!!!)

Well, Todd Carey played an awesome set last night as usual. I haven't been out that late on a weeknight in a long time. I was tiiiired today - but I managed to eek out this tote. Hope you like....

Totes and Notes

This is a guitar cake we made for my brother yesterday. It's a very belated birthday cake! My mom used that new cake pan spray that has FLOUR in it - look how clean it comes out.

Well here is a pic of the finished tote. It's about the perfect size to slip a magazine into. It's made from a heavy weight red burlap-ish (but smooth) type fabric. The corner inserts are a vintage-look nursery rhyme motif. I also have a covered button in the middle and an elastic loop. I decided not to post this one on Etsy however since it was experimental and I had some parts that I "fudged" a bit on. So I'm going to test this one out myself for the next couple of days and see if I like it well enough to make another. Those are some new metallic gold peep toe flats I picked up today!

Well off to take a nap - we're going to see our friend Todd Carey play at Hotel Cafe tonight at 10pm. Very excited, haven't seen him play live in a while. Check him out if you livc in the area.

Time flies.........

Well, I had planned to post a new tote in my Etsy Shop tonight but I got a little ambitious with the design - and now it's bedtime. But above is a sneek peek.

This is the log cabin pillow I made for my mom this weekend. She loved it. I used all retro, 50's ish, kitchy type fabrics - and the gnomes finally!!

Achoo!!

Some new tissue holders in my Etsy shop. Now, time to do some cleaning around the house!

Sake and Sakura

On a recent (yesterday) trek to J-Town, I got a couple more Japanese craft books. I immediately had to work on one of the projects, which were these, fabric flower-shaped bowls.

On the blue one with the apples, I pinched up the petals too far in. It's supposed to lay flatter like the other one, with my tangled necklace in it.

These are just the prettiest Sake bottles ever. Frosted pink glass!

Let the Etsy-ing Begin

Well my craftychamploo etsy shop is up and running. I'm just starting out small with some covered buttons using vintage fabric. I'm working on others as we speak, they are more involved but I'm hoping to get them out soon!

I Heart Aprons

Well, I finally stopped procrastinating and made myself a real craft apron. I used a piece of my favorite Urban Outfitters heart printed sheets. I lined it all in a heavy tan canvas so no pencils or scissors poke through. I did make a scissor loop though on the left side which is very handy for me. I suppose I could have stylized it a bit more - rounded corners, more compartmentalized and whatnot. Oh well, c'est la vie, at least it's functional. That's what I get for having a cappucino at 10pm and making this apron at 2am - but as Farmer Hogget would say, "That'll do pig".

Z_E_R_O

I've been sewing a lot tonight - but I have'nt actually finished anything yet. I started like 4 projects because I had so many ideas and I wanted to start fleshing them out. So here I am, 4 things halfway done, intead of 1 thing totally done..sigh.

With that said - basically that I have nothing to show for the last 4 hours of my life - I thought I'd officially introduce you to my dog Zero. She's our family dog actually and lives with my mom and dad. She'll be 3 yrs old this July and she's just the best. Zero is a 13" Beagle which means she is the more petite version, their height does not exceed 13" from the tip of the nose to the ground. She can be very tricky and clever, and she loves to be with people more than anything! She can jump about 5 feet high (as tall as me) and likes to chew on things shes not supposed to. I named her after a character from one of my favorite books "Holes".

I entered her in the Old Navy New Mascot search. When I entered her a few weeks ago, there were about 6,000 dogs in the running. Today, there are almost 120,000 dogs entered in the contest!!! Stop by the site, go to "Check out the Competition" and click on the "sort dogs alphabetically by name", that's the easiest way to navigate the site. Zero thanks you kindly.