Holy... shop update!

It was a busy weekend in the sweatshop! Brooches and rings, earrings and necklaces, cool hooks to hang those necklaces on...

Go check out all the new loot! Yippeeee!!

Etsy Love

I am loving these little cameo framed original art brooches! They're so cute and unique. You know that if you go out with one of these pretties pinned to your cardigan no one else will have one like it.

 above {Nan Lawson}

 

above {Storybook Rabbit}

The Tattoo Baby Doll Project

So while I'm at Goodwill...maybe rummaging through toys, looking for a vintage Fisher Price record player or some old Viewmaster reels...never have I ever looked at an old cloth-body baby doll and thought "I could totally embroider tattoos on that baby doll"...but it did occur to Sherri Wood over 10 years ago.  

I randomly came upon this project today, started in 1998 by a lady who happened to like embroidery and tattoos.Its a precursor to the handmade art/craft movement that is so prevalent these days. I admit that I didn't immediately love the dolls (a smidge creepy?), but the more I read about them, the more interested I became.

It was a simple idea.  (from the artist's statement on the project site) "I find cloth bodied baby dolls at thrift shops and send them to tattoo artists who then draw original tattoos directly on the dolls. They send the dolls back to me and I hand embroider the images on the cloth bodies".

Her purpose was this: "to break down barriers and prejudices about women’s work and roles, tattoo subculture, craft and art. The project strikes a subtle balance between these varied traditions and the communities they represent, thus questioning the lines that define, separate and empower each tradition. It draws together two distinct and distant marginal groups".

I like that it blends the talents of two different people using two different art forms. I like that it takes a very familiar part of many girlhoods and gives it a drastic makeover...as us girls have so changed since we last held a baby doll (some of us even tattooed?).

It sort of encourages me to think outside the box...to maybe use more re-purposed materials, more mixed media, explore non-traditional style...use things from my own childhood to create something new and fun.



Style

Alison Mosshart's all like... "check"....

a day at the downtown houston aquarium

Shake it like a...

Hurrah! Finished my pink polaroid embroidery!

NEXT!

Paper Hearts and Treasure Hunts!

20 paper hearts cut from this super cute scrapbook paper found @ Hobby Lobby for like.. 30 cents for Ryan's Valentine's day TREASURE HUNT!!! He'll be all over the apartment building...in the lobby, in the parking garage, etc.  I wrote 20 little riddles he's got to figure out in order to find his next clue. There will be little treats hidden here and there and a surprise at the end! YAYYYY!! I probably had more fun planning it than I think he'll have actually doing the treasure hunt

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In other treasure hunting news, we found a new happy hour place yesterday-  The Community Bar in Midtown.

OHHHHH WOW the food... this was no "bar food".. it was absolutely amazing food. We split 2 appetizers, Bangkok ravioli (dumplings) made of chicken and mushrooms in a green curry cilantro sauce and the goat cheese and pork egg rolls. I mean... I love goat cheese... you could put it on a dog biscuit and I'd call it a delicacy...but they were out of this world. Check out a review and photos here. Apparently Chef Bob does alot off the menu too. You can ask him to whip up a snack for you...whatever he's feeling..and he'll make you something unique and fantastic. The couple next to us were eating ribs which I didn't see on the menu. I was being nosy... telling them they smelled amazing... and the guy actually put a rib with BBQ sauce on a plate and gave it to us. HE GAVE US A RIB. LIKE ADAM GAVE TO EVE. How nice is that??  FOOD SHARING.

The drinks were great, too! We had a Moscow mule which is vodka and ginger beer (something Ryan and I drink often at home with Goya ginger beer, the spiciest we're found aside from Beaver's homemade) and a Moteato, tea vodka with mint, lemonade and soda water.

We'll definitely be back! If you're in the area, it's highly recommended.

Candy jar.

This week's Instax is my Mammaw's (my mother's mom, pronounced Meh-Maw) candy jar. It's lost a strawberry and some have been repainted. It was always filled with something good... those little sugar coated orange slices or goldfish crackers (I would eat the whole bowl...I think it's why I still love goldfish to this day). I love having this candy jar- it always reminds me of her.

She died in 1996 but would have been 100 years old today. I hope she's having a martini in Heaven with Pappy.

Happy Birthday Mamma!

Random acts of Irish Festival/ Stew cook-of in Downtown Houston

This past Saturday Ryan and I hopped on the Metro-rail downtown to see what kind of adventures we could cook up. We hopped off a few miles down the road because we heard music & saw lots of people hanging out on a blocked off street. Turns out it was the 4th Annual Rory Miggins Irish Stew Cookoff and we got our St. Patty's celebrations off to an early start.  We paid a little entry fee which went to the Houston St. Patrick's Parade Comission, grabbed a couple of Guinnesses  and walked around to each tent to taste their fare while listening to Irish bands.. There was one tent that had an amazing spicy chili...not Irish.. but awesome anyway. Nothing like a random festival on a beautiful Saturday!