War Time & Play Time.

Not knowing anyone in the service at this time, it is easily forgotten that we are a country at war, even though the headlines are dotted with stories daily.

War Time & Play Time a book self-published in 2003 by my friend Didier Leplae of his father's comics (Luc Leplae), about his childhood in Beligum during the war. The drawings are really sweet and the stories are awesome....

I finally got him to drop some off at the boat and I suggest checking it out .

Happy New Year everyone~

NPR craft & the loot!

My friend Dave Monroe forwarded me this really interesting link today from NPR that is worth listening to. Perfect Strangers: Crafters

It's not directly related to anything within' the indie craft scean, just interesting that "crafts" are in the news.....

Kim & I survived our first hoiday shopping season at the boat and it went really well, the store never looked too empty and lots of strangers came into shop which is ideal!!

Yesterday & today we are closed for inventory which involves a lot of cross checking of codes and numbers since we do it all by hand. I think I hate it! Actually I know I hate it, but it's all apart of the labor of love called self employment I guess.

The holiday weekend was a blast spent with Nathan's family who went above and beyond with all sorts of gifts. But the highlight of the evening (they do gifts on x-mas eve) was giving Nathan his ticket to SPAIN!! Now we can talk about the trip freely and make all sort of plans including how we are going to scrape together spendning mulah. Which leads to the dreaded thoughts of the dreaded "slow season"....

Will a temporary "real" job be in my future? Only time will tell.... I would always like to think that some strange job will pop up and it usually does. My fingers are crossed for some illustrating job or something. Last night I drempt I won $500 in a bet.....

BUT, in the holiday LOOT department, I did get this awesome box set which I've been drooling over since it came out~
Shelia Burgel of Cha Cha Charming did the liner notes to the 120 songs which is just amazing!

Oh, I also wanted to mention I got Nathan a print from Keith Shore and it was a big hit, everyone should check out his work! KAS will also be having a show at the boat later this spring!! This is the print I got, it was super hard to pick which one to buy but I am super pleased we will have it hanging in our house (it was also in an issue of ReadyMade Magazine)~
Thank goodness the holidays are over! I'm off to do a New Years theamed window and finish inventory at the shop!

wishing everyone a happy holidays

I whipped these up (gocco style) to send out to our vendors at the boat along with consignment checks.... Hope everyone has a safe and stress free holiday week if you do the whole holiday thing!

Stolen Art

This was posted on getcrafty.com by Susie, if anyone has any information or if you would like to pass the word along~ please do!

Lolitas are in Milwaukee!

At the store sorta bored, yesterday it was a total mad house in here. Tonight I think the weather is keeping a lot of folks inside. We are open late till 10 to celebrate the opening of Lumberjack Lolitas (see above picture) and also for holiday shopping! I hope some peeps come in to keep me company....

I did just put together my package for a trade with craftlog.org I am sending off some little things and my Yetti will arrive soon I hope!


One last bit of inspiration is this card I found on ebay~ what an amazing illustration.... Dreamy!
Perhaps mr. nathan will arrive via flying fish this evening clutching my dinner instead of flowers- or both would be just lovely.... HA!

home again home again!

Los Angeles was a wopping 75 degrees and Bazaar Bizarre was a huge sucess! There were 170 vendors which is pretty insane, but regardless I sold out of Messenger Owls in the first hour and more than half of my inventory was left in Cali when I flew back on monday.

Not only did I get to participate in a great show but I got to meet Jill Bliss who is full of incredible inspiration and has also founded the Save Gocco site!!!! I encourage all of you to check it out as well as the links and info. I only made a few purchases while at the show one from Axel Honey
and another from one of the amazing illustrator/screen printers on the second floor who's name I didn't get.

Saturday Michaela and I put our feet in the water and watched the sun slip behind the horizon.

OH! Upon arriving at home I got my Patchwork Postcard Set from Wee Wonderfuls in the mail... So dang cute, get some!!!

Web orders BE GONE & 72 degrees....

If you placed an order off my site within the last 2 weeks it mailed today! 26 orders off to various edges of the country.... all priority mail with delivery confirmation. Keep your eyes peeled.

This is what my studio looked like last night until 2 am. Mr. Nathan finally had to pull me away, BUT I got it all done, and that is THAT!

Tonight will be spent indoors doing last minute prep for Bazaar Bizarre in WARM 72 degree Los Angeles.

Micaela (expiermental filmmaker extraordinaire) will be picking me up at la airport and I will have one day of fun in the sun until the show, then I pack up and fly home on Monday. Just like a real business trip. Last year I stayed out there for an entire week, but that was before the ol' ball and chain of the store, HA!

Don't forget to come say hello if you go to the show this Sunday....

Domino Magazine

My first fancy magazine write up!

The other cool thing about this Domino write up is that I was two items down from Tracy of Happy Owl Glass!

Time to go to the boat....

Los Angeles Bound~ December 11th visit me!

This sunday if your in Los Angeles you should really check out this show!

I'm home for the day just busting through orders that are all from the DOMINO magazine write up. I haven't even picked the magazine up yet.... I'll post it when I do.

"Out There"

Art vs. Craft in the press......

In this weeks Milwaukee Shepherd Express in the "Out There" Section

Bayview Holiday Shopping!

The Paper Boat has new neighbors!
Fasten Clothing Co-op
Wednesday-Saturday 12-7
Sunday 12-5
Closed Monday & Tuesday

These rad ladies organized the Bay View Holiday Shopping Guide.....

YAY small businesses!

Time to stock up!!

I just got the email from Jen of Secondary Highway that it's time to stock up on gocco suplies... read about it HERE

What a drag.

Craftivism.com rules & snow!!

Martha (or rather her assistants who think of all the ideas) wins again! I found this link via craftivism.com (a site everyone should bookmark!) about d.i.y. snow globes. The ideas seem really endless and I really want to try this if I can get some time. If anyone does do this will you post pictures of your final project!

QUOTE:
Snow Globes

The shimmering magic of snowfall is always transfixing, whether it’s outside your window or inside this classic toy. Homemade globes let you create a wintry scene straight out of your own imagination. Almost any jar works for this project: Baby-food, pimiento, and olive jars are good choices. Look for plastic or ceramic figurines (metal ones are prone to rust) at flea markets and hobby or model-railroad shops. Synthetic evergreen tips are available at many floral-supply stores. If the jar lids are not in seasonal colors already, paint them with oil-based enamel paint. Sand the inside of the lid until the surface is rough. With clear-drying epoxy, adhere the figurine to the inside of the lid, and let the epoxy dry. Fill the jar almost to the top with distilled water; add a pinch of glitter and a dash of glycerin (available at drugstores) to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. Don’t add too much, or the glitter will stick to the bottom of the jar when it’s flipped. Screw on the lid tightly, being careful not to dislodge the figurine. Turn the jar over and back again—and let it snow.

Cool huh?!

Also via the craftivism.com site is a link to download some unusual holiday music. I have to say this isn't normally my cup of tea, but since I am now a shop keep, it is nice to have "seasonal" music in the store while people shop. Regular holiday music makes me want to stab my eyes out (except Sliver Bells, which I love for some reason). So if your in the mood for some new music go HERE

We have snow outside, you?! Happy December everyone....