You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘crafts’ tag.
I can hardly contain my excitement for the change in seasons. Hellooooo Fall! Almost. It takes a little while to show its face around here but when it does it’s fantastic!
The first event I get excited about when fall comes is Halloween. I LOVE Halloween!
The goth in me has been inspired to do some Halloween type things. I’m on a roll with it so I thought I’d share a few things with you. First up, my gold leafed skulls…
If you want to gold leaf stuff yourself you’ll need:
1 package of gold or silver leaf (you can find this at any craft or art supply store)
adhesive (I used Old World Art gold leaf adhesive in the 2 oz. bottle)
varnish (Again, I used Old World Art gold leaf varnish in the 2 oz. bottle)
A tooth pick or stick (or anything you can use to move your item around without touching it during the adhesive & varnish process)
Paper towel or rag (for removing ink)
Burnishing tool
paint brush
Newspaper or junk mail (to lay under your project
Paint thinner (for cleaning your brush)
A pic of the supplies.
I got some awesome resin skulls from this lovely gal on Etsy. She did a custom order for me. As you can see, I started out with plain white skulls. Black ink was painted onto them for some depth.
They look kind of cool with just black on them, no?
After letting them dry, the adhesive was added. I was kind of amazed how little I needed. Once you apply the adhesive, you have to wait an hour before the next step. I busied myself with putting together the other half of my project which you’ll see at the end.
Here’s a blurry pic of one of the bird heads with the adhesive applied. it starts out white and dries to a clear tacky surface.
Get your leaf ready to apply. You have to be pretty gentle with this stuff.
Once the adhesive was dry, the gold/silver leaf was applied to the skulls. The instructions said to use a soft brush. I started with a super soft brush and realized I needed one that had quite a bit more stiffness to it. The skulls I’m working with have much more texture than a flat surface. For the effect I wanted, the gold needed to get into some of those crevices and the stiffer brush really made all the difference.
Here is the cat skull with the gold leaf applied before burnishing.
Another of all of them after burnishing. I didn’t take a photo of this step, but after the gold leaf is applied you want to polish the skulls with your burnishing tool. You do this by rubbing the surface gently with your tool. Do it in small circular motions. This smooths the surface, makes sure the leaf is pushed into the crevices, and gives the leaf a more natural look.
After burnishing my skulls I added some black ink to them.
I then rubbed the ink off with a moist paper towel. This will take the ink off the high spots and leave it in the low spots. It defines the detail and gives it a weathered look. You can skip the inking step entirely if you want a cleaner look.
Here’s one of the skulls after the ink has been rubbed off.
Once the ink has dried (which just takes a few minutes if even that), you’ll want to add your varnish. Definitely do this in a well ventilated area or outside.
Here are my lovely bones. The varnish takes 2 hours to dry. I put them in my laundry room with the vent fan on and left them overnight.
Here’s what I did with the gold bird skull. I made a head-piece with recycled leather flowers, copper studs, and feathers.
What do you think? I can’t wait to do the other skulls. It’s always satisfying to have an idea executed from start to finish. This was fun. It’ll be for sale in my shop.
I also couldn’t help myself. I’ve been wanting to do a bat for a while. I cut this one out of copper and enameled it with an opalescent charcoal grey. The result was more of a brown, but I like it just the same. It’s available in my shop for purchase.
I know this isn’t Halloween related but, I’ll be participating in the sketchbook project this year! I finally took the plunge. There are so many stories brewing in my head, it’ll be great to have them on paper and in all kinds of people’s hands. There’s still time to participate if you’re interested. I’ll be posting my progress as it goes.
Well, my jewelry isn’t going to make itself so I’m going to get back to work. The holidays are right around the corner ya know! Thanks for hanging out with me.
xoxo
-Xappa
Okay, so I’m not the most consistent person in the world when it comes to blogging. Lets just leave it at that, shall we? For now, I offer you a recipe and a quick update of the goings on in the warped world that is Xappaland.
So here we go with the recipe…
This my friends, is one of my favorite dishes to both make and eat. Veggie enchiladas with home made sauce. Delicious with lots of yummy vegetables and the sauce is fantastic! By the way, the sauce tastes nothing like the canned stuff. Don’t get me wrong! I do like the canned stuff, but you can’t beat home made!
Veggie Enchiladas with roasted sauce
Makes enough for 4 servings. Takes about 1 hour with 30 minutes prep time.
For the sauce:
5 good-sized tomatillos (or you can use tomatoes for a red sauce)
1 green bell pepper (You can substitute red for a sweeter sauce)
1 small white onion
2 Hatch chilies
3 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno (optional)
1 cup of fresh cilantro
For the filling:
8 ounce package of mushrooms
1 yellow squash or zucchini
1 medium white onion
2 large carrots
2 broccoli crowns
1 can of good quality olives
2 c. panela cheese (you can substitute any cheese you want, but I’m telling you this cheese is the best!)
Package of flour tortillas (larger size ones)
Sour Cream, green onions and avocados (for garnish)
P.S. I feel silly telling you this, but if you want to make this vegan just sub the cheese and sour cream or omit it entirely. You won’t even miss it because the sauce is what gives it so much flavor.
Directions:
Fire up the grill (with mesquite for best results), or the oven to broil (which ever suits you). In the meantime, rub a small amount of olive oil on all of your sauce ingredients (with the exception of the cilantro, leave that aside), until they’re coated.
Once your grill has reached proper temperature set each ingredient on the grate and let it blister on each side checking often. If using the oven do the same thing by putting the ingredients on a cookie sheet. You want it to look like this:
I forgot to take a pic of my stuff so here's someone else's from Delallo.com
Once the peppers have blistered on all sides take all ingredients off the heat and set them aside until they’re cool enough to handle.
In the meantime dice the onions and carrots. Give the mushrooms, broccoli crowns, and squash a rough chop into relatively the same size so they cook evenly. Saute the onions and carrots in a little bit of oil until they’re slightly browned. Add the mushrooms, broccoli, and squash with a little bit of salt then turn the heat down to low and cover.
Now it’s time to make your sauce! Peel the skin off of your peppers and tomatillos/tomatoes. Make sure you de-stem and de-seed your peppers! Put your naked peppers, tomatillos/tomatoes, garlic, onion, jalapeno, and cilantro into the food processor and blend until liquefied.
At this point you should be tasting and seasoning your sauce. It’s important you don’t skip this step cause you’re going to be covering your entire meal with it! Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust.
Once you have your sauce to your liking, add about half of it to your cooking veggies and turn the heat up to medium high. Add the olives and stir often until the veggies are cooked through (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.
Now you want to set up your enchilada making station!
Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of your glass baking dish. Fill each tortilla with filling and cheese to your liking. Fold it up like a burrito and place in the dish, repeat until the dish is full.
Pour the remaining sauce onto the top of the enchiladas (you can do that with any remaining filling too). Sprinkle the cheese on top and put it into the oven on broil. Keep a close watch on them bad boys!
Once the cheese on top has browned slightly they’re ready!
Here’s a rough idea of my process. I forgot to take a pic of the sauce and cheese on top of my enchiladas before I baked them, but you get the idea.
I like to garnish mine with some delicious avocado slices, green onions, Mexican sour cream, and a drizzle of hot sauce.
So, this summer has been very eventful. Here are some of the highlights:
We went to see the Black Keys in Mesa. A really good day and night with some great people. Those guys know how to put on a great show!
I took a trip to California to participate in the Getty Crafty event and visit my family.
On the first day, I visited with my sister-in-law and my niece. Isn’t she the cutest baby you’ve ever seen?
My mom’s garden. Apparently, it has been quite fruitful. Still waiting on that zucchini bread ma…
I sent my pop some make-shift plans for display items. Of course he went above and beyond what I asked of him. Check out the cuff display behind the earring rack. Crazy! Thank you again, pa!
Mom and dad helped out with so much for this show.
It was such a beautiful day.
I ran out of battery power for my camera so the other photos I took weren’t so lovely.
Sacramento is so green and lovely. I miss that so much living in the desert.
Aaand a few more. Sorry about the blurriness. I took these from the car.
The next day we went to my favorite ice cream spot in the whole world.
Brock’s Ice Cream Palace. I’ve been going to this place since I was little and it NEVER disappoints.
Still looks the same.
Even though Violet wasn’t eating it she enjoyed the ice cream just the same.
I believe my flavor was caramel cashew. I wish I had some right this moment.
On the last day of my visit my mom and I went to breakfast.
Real cute spot and the food is consistent and reasonably priced.
Isn’t my mama pretty?
Our food.
My mom playing with her food. I kinda wish my trip was longer but, I just don’t got it like that…yet. It’s always nice to have a taste of home even if it’s a really tiny one. I’ll see you again in the fall my lovely family!
Over the summer I fixed up some new display cases made for my local shops. Here’s one I did for Blueberry Deluxe from start to finish.
I got me a stinky train-case (it seriously reeked of Jean Naté), and took the top handle off.
Gutted it of the unsightly vinyl glued inside.
Here it is gutted.
I traced the pieces I took out onto some vintage fabric. Cut it out leaving about 1/4 seam allowance and sewed each piece with finished edges. Once that was done, I just hot glued the fabric onto the inside. As you can see here, it is slightly too long. I just snipped a little off folded it over and glued it in place.
Another view.
After I finished glueing everything in place I added some wire to hang various items off of. I just drilled holes into the existing plastic for the wire to hook onto.
I re-attached the handle and sewed the wire onto the fabric for the top of the display.
And here is the case finished with the items waiting for new homes. What do you think? I think you’re pretty much up to speed on the goings on in Xappaland except for a few things here and there. Hope your summer was an eventful one and I’ll have some more updates for you soon. Good night for now, and enjoy your weekend!
xoxo
-Xappa
Spring has definitely sprung here in the desert. The season here is very short and makes way for the blistering sun in a few weeks. We’ve been taking advantage of the weather and enjoying time outdoors as much as possible before the heat hits.
Our first attempt at a composting bin has been successful and we purchased herbs and some pots to put them in. So far, they’ve lasted longer than any herbs I’ve owned before. Which isn’t that long but, for me it’s quite an accomplishment. We’ve already put some to use in our cooking. Using fresh herbs makes a huge difference.
I used some of our fresh rosemary for some Italian greyhounds. I used the recipe here. Deeeelicious! Such a refreshing drink.
We had them with black bean burgers, chips, salsa & guacamole. So good!
I get so excited for light drinks during the warmer weather. If you have any drink suggestions or recipes please share with me!
Even though the swaying trees and smell of jasmine in the air make me want to lay in the grass and daydream my life away, Space Cadet has been keeping me busy. I’m proud to say that Firefly Gallery is now carrying my line! If you’re in or passing through Paso Robles, California stop by and check the place out. Locally and handmade items by some very talented artisans. It’s adorable!
Annnnnd in local news, Space Cadet is now available at Wet Paint artist’s supply in Tempe, Arizona!
If you’re local and you don’t know about this place, shame on you! Lots of art supplies, locally made wares, crazy selection for all your spray paint needs, and an impressive stock of art related magazines, books and dvds. Now get your ass in there and buy something! Jess and Dump will take care of you.
On top of the new locations, I will be participating in the upcoming Getty Crafty Event in Sacramento, California.
So far over 70 vendors have signed up for this event and I’m proud to be one of them! There will be live music, food, and very talented crafters slingin’ their wares. Learn more about the event and the cause here.
I’ve already started on some enamel pieces for the show. Can’t tell you how excited I am about using my kiln! It’s a love affair, really.
I can’t wait to turn these into necklaces and rings. And yes, that is an octopus and an anatomical heart up there.
Here’s some pics of the last batch I made that were more illustration oriented.
There will be a good mix of the two for the show. I plan on making more hearts in the future. maybe even teeth with pretty designs on them. I’d love to hear some suggestions on what you’d like to see on a necklace.
Okay, so I’ve been a horrible blogger. If my friend’s daughter Sofie were here she would inform me that I have bad manners. So, I’m here to apologize and give you a recap of the past few months. I’m SO very sorry! Please forgive me?
Now to give you the scoop… Had the 2nd In the Yard event with PHX DIY. We have a few new members and it was a lovely day out!
Here’s one new member and close friend Angela Riccobono. She’s reppin’ for her line Cherry Bombin’ Wear. Lovely items made from recycled bicycle tubes. Love her to death!
Next up we’ve got Claire Tinnion. She creates lovely paintings and is a real sweetheart!
We have added See Saw Designs to our growing number of members. Raquel, Angela, and Lindsay do amazing letterpress work!
Next up is Starving Artist Bazaar. Jennifer creates fantastic creatures from recycled wool sweaters, and lovely lamp work jewelry.
Thems are the new memberonis! Here’s a look at the treat table. It was the day before Valentine’s day after all.
Kinda wish I had one of those cookies right now!
K. Next up in my calendar of past events was a Roller Derby! Some of the PHX DIY girls got together for Amanda’s (from Perfect Dressipe) birthday. We got there about 30 min before the bout was supposed to start. The line was out the door and stretched out across the large parking lot. Apparently because of this movie there has been a surge in attendance to these things. It was lots of fun, however I think it may have been more fun if alcohol were allowed. Just my opinion.
Here’s a horrible pic of the girls revving up the crowd. Sorry, we weren’t in the best spot. My other pics were waaaay worse than this one.
Anyhoo, awesome night! Had lots of fun with the girls and got to meet some new peeps. That’s always a good time.
So, after all of the celebrating and holidays and what nots. I decided to do a cleanse. The master cleanse, no less.
Ummmm….yuck. I only lasted 5 days. I’ve done this before and the longest I’ve gone is 8 days. Absolutely hated every minute of it. BUT, I felt really good afterward and it keeps me from getting sick all year. If you’re interested I suggest doing some intense research, and making sure you’ve got the right mind-set to do it. It is not an easy plan in the least.
A few weeks later PHX DIY participated in the SAMA Street Fair. Here are a few pics of the event…
Here’s what the street looked like at 7:30am. Interesting way to do the check in…interesting but frustrating.
Here’s the street once the fair got started.
And our lovely PHX DIY members set ups…
Against the grain.
See Saw Designs.
Spoonful of chocolate hope.
Starving Artist Bazaar
Kenzie Noelle Designs.
Sea Lemon.
Cherry Bombin’ Wear.
Space Cadet.
Okay. I suppose you’re all caught up for now. I promise, I won’t lag on getting these posts up for the rest of the year! Have a great week!
Goodbye turkey meatball sandwiches! Oh, how I will miss you!
I wanted to share somethings with you. I’ve decided to once again cut meat out of my diet…almost. I will still be eating the meat known as fish. I just can’t eat birds anymore. I have struggled with this type of thing my entire life. On and off meat has been in my life. My folks weren’t really that big on meat growing up. But, we definitely had our fair share. About 5 years ago I decided to really find out where our food is coming from and exactly how our bodies process it. I purchased 2 books. “Digestive Wellness” and “Fast Food Nation“. After reading both thoroughly and doing a bit more research of my own, I decided to cut meat and dairy out of my diet. It was a very difficult task to say the least. I don’t know if you are aware of just how political meat really is. Seriously. After 3 years, we were back on the dairy (not organic). And a year after that we were back on the bird (once again, not organic). Ugh. So, I feel it’s time to get back on the wagon with fish in moderation. So, goodbye to my super delicious turkey meatball sandwiches and hello to a different lifestyle!
With that said I have to show you this delicious fettucine with arugula pesto and shrimp. I got it here. The recipe calls for spaghetti, but we decided that we wanted it on fettucine.
I went a little overboard with the garlic, but it was fantastic!!! We squirted some lemon juice on it and pigged out! You should definitely try it. Stick with the one clove of garlic though.
I’ve got some other stuff to show you. You know how I was telling you about the buttons from the antique shop in the last post? Well, I took pictures! Eeeeeeeee! I LOVE buttons. Some of these are pretty blurry but you can still see how cute they are.
I’ve also been making the flowers for the cuffs the buttons will adorn.
Yay for new projects! We’re slowly starting to get stuff for the house we’re renting. I know it’s been 7 months but, if you had been through what we went through you’d take your time too. Dominic and I took a trip to Ikea and bought a little rolling t.v. stand. I finally covered the hideous pillows that came with the couches we bought. I love how they turned out! The brown graphic fabric is vintage and the pink and orange geometric print fabric is new. Gary likes them too.
Oh, and last but not least…I picked up this AMAZINGLY kitsch vintage glass from Savers. It’s a friggin’ Don Ho glass! I LOVE IT!
Hey there!
Like I’ve said before, this time of year is really busy for me. My little hands have been working hard on some new things! My mind is swimming with ideas and it’s hard to keep up with it all. I love it and hate it all at the same time. So to catch you up…here’s what I’ve been doing the past few weeks…
First off, I just wanted to show you the cover I did for a 7 inch my friend’s company released under their new label Jamille. It was a nice clean simple project.
Very happy with the way it turned out. I don’t get to do this kind of thing much and I have a good time doing it. I had to do most of the work with the logo. He only had it on a piece of paper, so I had to go in and trace it in Illustrator. I wanted him to have a digital logo for print work. Anyhow, he had the records pressed up recently, and I was happy to be a part of the design process. Let me know what you think!
Turkey day was fantastic! Dom and I stayed at a friend’s house for a few days while they were out of town. Coincidentally, they live across the street from his cousin. So, we had a small dinner with her and later that night when her husband came home we ate sandwiches with him too.
We started off in the afternoon preparing everything while the turkey was in the oven. We snacked on fresh veggies and had some mimosas…
I made some really awesome chipotle-cranberry sauce with a recipe I got here. It was delicious! I’ve experimented with other recipes and this is my absolute fave! Definitely going into the files.
I didn’t take any pics of the other dishes or our made up plates ’cause I was too lazy/hungry to get up from the table and get my camera. However, I did get a pic of the beautiful turkey. It was our first time doing it on our own. High fives all around, ’cause it was AWESOME!
Sorry it’s a little blurry, but you can see how good it looks regardless!
The next night, I went to visit with a friend and her family. Her baby boy is growing so fast!
Some of Jen’s handy dandy decorating…
and a really silly dancing santa.
After recovering from Turkey day and a cold, it was back to work I went. It was a short week for me because I had signed myself up for 2 shows this week. One thursday and one Friday. The one I did on Thursday was kind of a bust. Not my market. Oh well. The one I did on Friday made up for it. Although we were freezing our butts off! The event was outside and a chilly 38 degrees. I was a friggin’ icicle! Friends came out that I hadn’t seen in ages. And of course it was lots of fun with the PHX DIY crew. We always keep each other entertained. LOVE those girls!
Here is what the table in my studio STILL looks like.
A fellow artist friend once asked me about my process. She asked if I clean up after each project, or if I continue to work on top of the mess. We found that we both work on top of the mess. Once it gets out of control we clean. You mean this isn’t out of control? You ask. Nope. It’s out of control when I have no more space to put anything down.
Here’s what comes out of it though…
and this
and this
And this.
There is a method to the madness!
I took these little treasures down to the Crafeteria on Friday at Frances. I got alot of good feedback and my $5 basket was a hit! Thank you universe! I took some pics of our setups. Here are some of the lovely ladies freezing their asses off.
I don’t think you need to see mine for the umpteenth time so I’ll spare you. Here’s one of our newest members Jennifer Bates of Sea Lemon. She makes journals by hand and does a damn good job! She was my neighbor for the Crafeteria that night.
Amanda and Melissa of Perfect Dressipe had their setup looking fantastic as usual.
Another new member is Morgan Kunse. She had her photography set up. I took 2 pics ’cause I was shivering too much to get the first one right.
Ashley had a really sweet and simple setup for her stuff. Again, I took 2 pics. Hopefully this makes up for the crappy pics I took last time.
And Jamie of Kenzie Noelle Designs. Her setup always looks great!
And I took a pic of a friend’s setup who isn’t a member of PHX DIY but makes fantastic stuff! Her setups are always beautiful! Her name is Angie and you can purchase her stuff here. She was another friend I hadn’t seen in awhile. It was nice running into her plus she gave me some chocolate. What a lucky girl I am!
We’re already planning some bike riding business.
So, after the crafty festivities were over and done with I went home to unload and eat something quick. I met up with my boyfriend and our friends at Sidebar. I unfortunately forgot my camera, ugh! There were soooo many camera moments I was kicking myself. Afterwards we did something we NEVER do. We had people over for an after-the-bar-drinking-more-beer kind of thing. I don’t want to say “afterparty” because that sounds ridiculous coming from me. But there was drinking, dancing, and lots of laughing.
Our friends are the shit is all I can say. No drama, no egos, no games. Just good peeps. Again, thank you universe for blessing us with them!
It was finally time to go to sleep. We tried to convince Tige to sleep on a bed or couch of some sort but he was happy with his piece of the floor next to the records.
Good times.
This weekend was a blast! The PHX DIY got down at our first event. It took place in the yard at Bunky Boutique. I remembered to bring my camera this time! Here’s the first few pics.
Now, I present to you the lovely work of my fellow artisans….enjoy!
First up is A Spoonful of chocolate hope. Michelle makes wonderful bags from used books. You can follow her on Twitter.
Here’s my setup. Don’t be jealous of my foam sign!
Next up we have Perfect Dressipe. They are Amanda, Gina, and Melissa and they make LOTS of stuff! Aprons, pillows, purses, hair accessories, jewelry, silk screened/patchwork tees, etc. They also have a blog, aaaaand you can follow them on twitter.
Next we have Against the grain jewelry by Ashley Weber. Ashley makes beautiful things. The pic just doesn’t do her justice! Sorry girl!
And last but definitely not least, we have Kenzie Noelle Designs. Jamie makes adorable things for baby and mother too. You can follow her on Twitter as well.
FYI that is Michelle being a smart ass, not Jamie.
And although they aren’t members the lovely ladies of Magpie press had their paper goods for sale as well.
Here is the giveaway prize table.
And the food and beverage table. Gina’s scotcharoos are insane! They’re the treats hiding behind the apple cider jars.
And that’s my story, thanks for reading! Become a fan of PHX DIY on Facebook. We’ll keep you in the loop for upcoming sales and events. I gotta get back to work now. Have a great week!
Sheesh it’s been a long time since I’ve been on here. Halloween has come and gone. We’re already a few weeks away from Turkey day. I’ve been a really busy girl with various craft shows and filling wholesale orders. I just haven’t had any time to do any catching up. So, while I have a few hours of downtime (while some things cure/dry/set..etc.) I’ll fill you in on some of the goings on in the past few weeks.
On October 17th I participated in a craft fair at Urban Yoga in celebration of their 1 year anniversary.
Beautiful spot that place is. Didn’t get any pictures, cause my camera is sucky and didn’t feel like staying on/in focus for very long. So, this is THE picture…enjoy! Trying to take pics of each set up to see what works best.
Last Friday the boyfriend and I went to the premiere of his cousin’s new website/viral cooking show Myanmar recipes.com It was fun, the food was excellent and her video (which is still in some stages of publishing) was great! Make sure you bookmark the site for future recipes. Trust me on this one, the food is delish!
The following week was spent trying to finish a wholesale order, and make new merch for 2 shows that weekend. Here are some pics of the fancy new fascinators I sent to SF. I sent 40 of these puppies, yes 40.
Finished up the wholesale order and ran out of supplies to make new merch. So, being the lucky girl I am…my friend and boyfriend both loaned me a little cash to buy some supplies. Thank you Universe for surrounding me with such understanding and supportive people! I am so grateful!
I banged out 30 pairs of earrings so fast it’d make your head spin. Seriously. So, the first event was First Friday at the Hidden House. That was in downtown Phoenix, close by our place. It was an event put on by the Fresh Fiends who actually gave me props on their blog. Thank you ladies! I had fun but had to dip out early. You got to know when to ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. Here’s a photo of my set up…
I think this set up is the winner.
We headed off to meet up with some friends and listen to Tige play records at Phoenix Sidebar
Jeff and Juliana.
The dynamic duo…Jeff and Tige.
Drew.
Tige’s fancy boombox belt buckle and crotch…p.s. he’s single ladies!
Saturday we slept in and cleaned the house. We were going to go to the fair, but seeings’ how Friday wasn’t as lucrative as I had hoped we nixed that and invited the boyfriend’s cousins over for dinner instead. I made marinated chicken and fettuccine Alfredo. Here’s a lovely pic taken with my new camera (thanks mom!)…
I stayed up after everyone left and finished up some last-minute projects and tagged items for the next days craft fair. The PHX DIY crew participated in the Indian School Block Party. I have no pictures of that cause I forgot my friggin’ camera…derrrr. But, some of the other ladies got pics and I’ll post those as soon as they do.
We’ve got another event coming up on Saturday so, definitely come by if you’re in the area!
Okay, so I think we’re all up to speed now. I’ve GOT to get some sleep. Have a great week!
xoxo
-Xappa
I’ve had a very exciting and busy week!
First off I have to tell you that I’m now employed by OUMA Clothing.
What a great opportunity! I couldn’t be happier. My friend Monique offered me a job pretty much as I was leaving the the Trunk. Everything just seemed to fall into place. I’m going to be doing some seamstress work for her as well as the usual assistant type stuff. My first day was Thursday and I had a blast! It is an honor to work with someone so talented! Okay. Enough gushing…I just can’t help it!
Thursday afternoon we got quite a few things accomplished. Along with it being the first day of employment for me, it was also the day I finally went to the hardware store to get a new cord for my old kiln.
My sweet old girl
As you can see, she’s quite the oldie! Therefore, her cord was old and made cracking and popping noises when you touched it. There was no way I was gonna plug that thing in. So with the assistance of a very nice man in the electrical department, we got the correct gauge wire and a new plug.
old wire and plug
new wire and plug
I also ordered some equipment and I’m saving up for a stainless steel workbench. I’m starting to get antsy! I can’t wait to fire her up. I’ve already got a ridiculous amount of vintage enamels just waiting to be used!
one of 3 boxes of enamels
sorry about the blurry pic. It’s a little dark in my living room…yes, my living room. Once we get some storage space, it’ll go outside…I promise.
And on First Friday, the Honey bunny and I went out. He was invited out to play records (the real ones, not serato) with some friends at The Hidden House in Phoenix. We’re not ones for outings at bars, however this was a special occasion. Being that he hasn’t played records in public for a REALLY long time AND he was able to play along side his friends in a mellow small venue. Needless to say, we had a blast!
Lovely folks at the Hidden House
Jeff and Tige gettin down
Tige doin' the dinosaur
The honey bunny a.k.a. DJ Organic tearin' it up
Although there was great music being played no one really danced, which is a shame. It must be exhausting being so cool! Boo cool people. Boo!
We got home around 3ish after some IHOP. *Thank you Darryl D!* We went straight to bed and passed out! The next morning we were up at 9, got some grocery shopping done, and vegged out in front of a t.v. watching several movies. I’m pretty sure we lost some brain cells, cause we just couldn’t get it together enough to do anything else.
Today, I was able to finally get some items up in my shop for a destash! Yayyyy destash! I really had to talk myself out of keeping the little guns. Then I said to myself, “Self, you’ve had those for 2 years and haven’t made anything out of them!” So, I snapped out of it. I’ll be listing those boom boxes soon as well. I need to go through some other items and see if there’s anything else I can get rid of.
I’ve begun to put together the beginnings of some new pieces for the upcoming shows I have.
A few ideas
And another blurry pic, but you get the idea. I’m really excited to be moving forward on some new stuff. It’s exciting for me to just pull the materials out and start grouping. I’m nerdy like that. I gotta get busy though, the first show is coming up next month. I’ll be at First Friday with other members of PHX DIY. If you’re in the area make sure you stop by our booth! We’ve got alot of talent in our group. I’m proud to be a part of something so creative! Ah, crafters. You gotta love ‘em! I’ll keep you posted on the other dates and where we’ll be on First Friday. Gotta get back to work. Have a great week!
