Put the Horse Before the Cart

I love Feist. Girlfriend is beautiful, Canadian, and up for four Grammys! Two of them is for her song and video, "1 2 3 4". I posted this months ago when it first came out, and here it is again. It's that good.

"Sleepless, long nights - that's what my youth was for." *sigh* Ain't that the truth....



Also nominated: Lily Allen and Tom Waits. You can bet I'll be watching the entire Grammys for the first time ever!

Silver Hair, You Mock Me

Lately I've been noticing a certain glistening je ne sais quoi in the mirror. It's not a new tan nor a "glow," but rather, silver hair.

Now, I'm no spring chicken, but I'm no winter duck either. (Yeah, I made that up. Go on, take it.) I mean, for chrissake! I'm only 32. There is this one particular silver hair that grows straight up from the middle part in my hair. Looks like some sort of Alfalfa joke. I pluck it when I see it, then booooooooop! There it grows again.

So to keep myself feeling young, I make fabric button jewlery that has a flair for fun, youth, and color. In fact, I'm wearing one right now made with this fabirc by Alexander Henry, and I've gotten several compliments on it today:



I made these fabric button pendants awhile ago and could not figure out how to make the backs look fabulous like the fronts. They were just a plain metal backing with a glob of glue attaching the eye pin. Horrible. But alas! I've figured out a way to make the backs pretty, and now these guys have moved out of the prototype phase and into the Buy-Me-Now phase. So enjoy!



Pictured: Mornighton Crescent, Wasabi, and Rock Me Amadeus - all available at my Etsy shop!

One If By Schmap, Two If By Sea

You are looking at a newly published photographer. Now, I barely know diddly-squat about photography, yet Schmap! chose one of my pics (Newman's Window, taken at the Old North Church) for their Boston guide. Click here to see my photo and others taken of churches around Boston.



So what's Newman's Window and why is it important? Here's an abdriged part of the story taken from www.oldnorth.com:

Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty had prepared for this troop movement and set about to alert their countrymen that the British Regulars (Redcoats) were heading their way. Revere...knew...that lanterns shining from the steeple of the tallest building in Boston at the time would clearly be seen on the other side of the harbor. Robert Newman, the church sexton agreed to help, so about 10:00pm that evening, he...climbed the 14-story steeple in complete darkness.

When he reached the very top, he lit and briefly held up two lanterns in the steeple window (one if by land, two if by sea). Although Newman hung the lanterns for probably less than a minute, it was long enough to be seen not only by the patriots, but also by the British troops. As Newman was coming down the stairs, British soldiers were at the front doors, trying to break in to investigate.

To escape arrest, Newman came down the center aisle, and escaped through the window to the right of the altar. It is now called the "Newman" window in his memory. Above the window is the replica of Newman's lantern that was lit by President Gerald Ford on April 18, 1975, to begin our nation's Bicentennial Celebration.

When Jason and I visited Boston last May, I fell in love. It is my all-time favorite city and I felt such at home there, such an affinity for the place and the people. It is such an honor to be a descendant and fellow countryman to the revolutionaries who fought hard to attain independence from the Brittish. They are true heroes!

Want to appreciate where you come from? Visit Boston! Here, this should whet your appetite...

Etsy Dallas - New Stuff That's Too Cool To Keep To Myself

Back in early September of 2007 I founded Etsy Dallas, a little group of local artists and crafters who sell their wares on Etsy.com. We were a simple group with a simple mission: to promote each others' craft, to find friendship and networking opportunities within each other, and to spread the indie handmade movement across Dallas and beyond!

Today this little group isn't so little anymore. We are now at a whopping 75 members, many of which are active in one form or other. 42 of us will be at the upcoming Valentine's Day Trunk Show on February 9th at South Side on Lamar, and every week I get 2-3 new requests for membership. Whoa nelly! I mean, just look at some of the greatness we have to offer:



To support the work of Etsy Dallas and its members, please consider scoring yourself some fabu merchandise at our brand spankin' new Cafepress shop, featuring our official logo designed by Miss Pamelita of Pamela Michelle. All profits will go right back into the group to help cover marketing, overhead, etc. Or better yet, open that wallet a teeny bit wider and shop at any of the 75 wonderful Etsy Dallas members' shops.

And while you're at it, take a look at our smokin' new web site. Because we are all about free and cheap, the site contains yucky ads from the company who is giving us free hosting. Try to ignore them! And as always, check out our blog for updates and neat-o crafty goodness.

SUPPORT LOCAL . BUY HANDMADE . LOVE INDIE

Bon Voyage, Sara!

Saying goodbye to something you love is bittersweet when you know it's going somewhere to be adored and cared for. I'm speaking of my all-time favorite pottery shard necklace, which I've had up for sale for about a year now. I give you the Sara... I use an image of her on my business cards and also for all sorts of promotion and marketing. Parting with Sara was such sweet sorrow, for she is off to her new home in Sydney, Australia to live with Victoria V., who found her for sale in my Etsy shop. Fare thee well, Sara! I shall sing Starship whenever I think of you: "Sara, Sara, storms are brewin' in your eyes...Sara, Sara - no time is a good time for good-bye..." Enjoy life down under!

Craft + Charity = Good (Really Good)

Is it presumptuous and a tad arrogant to feel that you are meant for something? Meant for something that will make the world a better place? I feel that I am meant to care for animals, to advocate for their care and to deliver them to safety. Is that crazy?

This morning I entertained about 40 cars at the intersection of Hampton and Davis. There was a stray dog trotting in and out of traffic and it took me about 1.4 seconds to decide to pull over and do something about it. We danced about the bustling intersection, pissing off DART buses and slowing down traffic. Finally, I shooed him towards some houses and off he went. I got back in my car and pulled back out into traffic. At a red light I watched him go off down Hampton and sent all sorts of good vibes his way. As the light turned green, I saw a blue car pull up to help him. I smiled and drove off.

I can only hope my actions did one or all of the following: (1) saved the dog's life, if only for the moment, (2) delivered him to the blue car that stopped to help him, (3) modelled behavior for the 40 or so cars that watched my attempts at caring for a helpless animal. I'll never know for sure.

All of this (and some recent spiritual epiphanies) have led me to decide the following: for every sale I make, I will donate 10% to animal welfare groups in my community. I'll do this at the end of each month by tallying my sales and figuring 10% - a sort of charity tithe. I'll alternate between Operation Kindness, SPCA of Dallas, Dog & Kitty City, and other smaller orgs in the Dallas area.

If I have a particularly good trunk show or fruitful month of online sales, I will up my annual donation to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, earrmarked for their rescue missions.

It's such a simple plan. Why don't you do the same?

Happy Anniversary Sweet Jane!

As an active member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, it is my duty to out myself as a dork with an English degree and wish Ms. Austen a happy anniversary. It was on this day in 1813 that Pride and Prejudice was first published. You go girl!

And here she sits on my desk next to my dachshund paper weight.

Mama's Gotta Watch Her Stories, Part II

So while I sit at my studio table making all sorts of fabulous new hair goodies, earrings, and bracelets (some of which I've posted here), I keep the telly on the shows I love to "listen" to.

I know, I know. It would be much more poetic if I listened to Mozart or Belle and Sebatian or Paul Anka while I created my work, but alas. I loves me some boob tube.

And this writers' strike is really getting to me. So much so that I've resorted to rewatching and/or catching up on TV shows of yore. Here are my top favorites:


Gilmore Girls - I will always and forever consider this my super duper favoritest show ever. The pop culture references and influences are enough to keep me steadfastly and forever in love with Lorelai and company. Favorite guest appearances: Norman Mailer, Sonic Youth, Christiane Amanpour.


Six Feet Under - I'm on season 3 now, with 5 episodes to go. Love it, love it. Ruth is my favorite character. She's so bizarre and hilarious. And the way she dresses. Whoa.


Freaks & Geeks - I'm making my way through a second viewing of the entire series (and season, since there was only one). I have three words for you: Carlos the Dwarf. Oh wait, two more words: James Franco.


Twin Peaks - There is a special place in my heart for this twisted little tale. I will always have a girl crush on Audrey Horne, and a real crush on Agent Dale Cooper. Mmmm, I could go for a cup of joe and a slice of Norma's cherry pie....