Mustache Bags

I did a little applique fun for the mustache festival I participated in a few weeks ago.
Now these new bags are slowly trickling into the Shop.
Who knew mustaches could look so good in calico print?!?
More to come soon . . . .

Maniacal Minatures

Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Deaths has been on my bookworm wish list for quite some time now. So naturally, I was quite delighted to discover that a documentary about Frances Glessner Lee's famous miniatures was being made. And who better to narrate this exploration of odd forensic masterpieces than Mr. John Waters.

It's astonishing to think that this woman's work is still having an impact on not only the forensic world today but Hollywood as well. Her miniatures were the inspiration behind the Miniature Killer from the classic crime show, CSI. A short trailer for the film is below.

Trendspotting

I discovered through the lovely blogging universe that collars are the new HOT accessory.  I literally came across several collars on various blogs in a matter of minutes this morning.  Each one is so original and unique. I can't think of a better project than this to help me dwindle down my gigantic stack of  print fabric.  It may be time to put the bow tie necklaces aside and take up collar making!

Simple adorable cotton collar by ulala

 Katie over at Sew Lovely Embroidery was inspired by the sharp miu miu collars which caught on like wildfire when the young fashionista than you think!

Louise over at Super Duper has also caught on to the craze and I love her upcycled interpretation of the collar!!

My favorite collar I discovered over a year ago at a little (work)shop run by M.O.M.
Love the ruffles and giant ribbon!

Musik

Just got home from the Treasure Island Music Festival. It was my very first outdoor festival and despite the fact that the weather was icky and very cold, I had a pretty good time.

I actually didn't care too much about the bands that were playing today but it did remind me of who I would be seeing very soon . . . . Grinderman! aka Nick Cave's new band.

I saw Nick Cave about a year ago and it was AMAZING! I will never forget that show. So I am absolutely thrilled to be seeing him again. His music really wretches at my heart, makes me shake my head in a frenzy, and move my feet in a way that feels good. I guess you can say I almost feel possessed, or a sense of immense passion. If you have a second, listen to the song below. It's beautiful and it might even make you cry.  Someone on youtube commented how this song gently kills you.

To blog or not to blog?

For the past couple weeks I have been questioning the relevance/purpose of my blog. I have found that once you have a good following, you just want more followers and more comments! Which in turn produces what my friend Polly calls Blog Envy. Yes, blog envy. As in when you are looking at all of the other blogs you are following and you start to despise them. You know, it's that feeling of envy you might get when looking at someone's latest post and you are thinking to yourself, "Why don't I have time to do that? Why can't I be that clever?"

Does this all sound childish? Of course it does! But I think it's true and for the past month I have been thinking a lot about what my blog is about and what sort of purpose it actually serves in my (creative) life? Do I do it for fun? For myself? Do I blog for business? Are my typed words some way of socializing with people online? I think the answer is yes to all of these, but I still feel like my blog is just not good enough! For the most part I think these feelings are generated from this sort of unspoken mold or format that exists in the blogging universe that we may feel we need to abide by. There are no specific rules on how to create a successful blog, but I tend to notice a pretty standardized format out there in the blog universe and in my head, I'm thinking, "That's what I should be doing! My blog needs to look like that!" But is this right? Doesn't this envy, this desire to have a weekly blogging format destroy the concept of originality and maybe even the very idea of blogging itself (i.e. Is this blog for me or for you?)

I don't really know the answers to some of these questions I'm having but I do know that I feel a strong urge to suddenly share these thoughts publicly. Which in turn makes me think maybe it's time that I get a little more personal on this blog. Maybe, I shouldn't worry so much about creating a flattering blog or a post that will draw millions of readers to my site. Maybe it's time to break the mold and just hope for the best with this blog.

So yeah, there you go. There's my rant for the week. Whew.

How about you guys? How do you feel about your blog? Are you insecure about it at all or do you just say, "Whatevs! This is just for fun!" I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts and feelings about blogging as well as why they think they actually blog. Hope some of you will share.

Creepy Crawlies

One of my favorite things about September and October is the spiders and the webs which seem to "bloom" among the trees and bushes. I love walking to work and seeing webs glistening with morning dew. I do not love walking my dog and realizing I just walked into a big invisible web. That still freaks me out.

So I can't imagine running into this newly discovered 85 ft long web created by the Darwin bark spider in Madagascar. It's something straight out of that funny yet super creepy movie, Arachnophobia.

But I do love this Cure music video and all it's spidery phantasm.

'Staches & Stuff

 I had the pleasure of spending this Saturday in a small town called Petaluma. The weather turned out to be perfect for an outdoor craft fair in the city's little park. The Crafterino was organized by the Petaluma Downtown Craft Mart and coincided with the Whiskerino festival that happened that same day. So to say the least there was lots of mustache themed items, and facial hair. Here are a few photos of the day for you to peruse.

First the Crafterino

 I made some new appliqued mustache tote bags. Can't wait to stock them in the store!

 

Now for the facial hair!

This guy has won for the past two years and rightfully so!