Month: September 2009

So I was catching up on the goings-on over at Audrey Kitching’s Buzznet page, where she mentions Opening Ceremony’s line inspired by Where the Wild Things Are. Everything is a bit above my price range…. but I NEED to have a faux monster fur skirt!!! STAT!!! On a somewhat similar note, I bumped into these gems on Etsy!! I’m tempted! I’m going to blow your mind now with the most awesome costume/dress ever by my girl Nicole Lindner: Today, my work-schedule hit a serious speedbump when the power went out at my parents’ house and I had a lot of trouble with the security alarm going haywire…. Fast foward through time…the power is back, thanks be to Odin!!! I went out and bought those Jesus/Mary candles at Lucky’s because they were cheaper (2 for $3) than the fancy yucky scented candles in the actual “Candles” section of the grocery store. I don’t regret buying 6 of them, though, because now I can take them back to my house and be prepared!!! They aren’t very bright…but they are better than nothing! I was about to post a quickie VLOG after watching Cuppy’s, but the power went out right as I was bringing up Vimeo!!! Sorry I look like a troll. I have been getting like 3-4 hrs of sleep per night cuz my parents’ dogs wake up early and need to fed, and then my dogs start barking at every little thing all day long! Back to making sushi scarf!

click to go to Etsy listing We re-stocked the red/white striped candy cane heart necklaces! I also FINALLY snapped some pics of the GIANT pile of clothes I need to sell! I have to do it in segments or else I’ll go insane, so here is the first installment! I have to deliver my finished book of patterns as well as samples of every item to my publisher on or before October 15, so now I am in full throttle mode!!!! I wrote down, day by day, what projects I need to complete on which day. It’s a bit intense. I’m also making some accessories for an outfit for a fashion show which I will post about later, but that is due on October 20th! We have to be in in Houston the weekend of October 17th, so I need to try to have everything done before we leave. It’s really hectic inside my brains!!! I still need to buy red shoes!! EEEEEE!!! Also our internet connection has been spotty. I’m shocked it even works right now, cuz it hasn’t all day. Also the reply-comment function on my blog was busted, but I think it might be fixed! Sorry if I have not been replying to comments. I still read all of them! P.S. We saw Jennifer’s Body on Saturday night, and I have to say that I expected it to not be great, but….it was pretty not-great, and I love me a bad horror movie. The only gem I took away from it was, “You give me a wettie.”

Took a couple pics today for PinkZombies on Etsy. I just got this dress the other day, and it fits so perfectly! I don’t have a lot of orange clothing, but I think I am a fan!! I also took a few pics for ShanaLogic, hence the giant bow. I put on a darker lipgloss because I thought it might look more formal or dressy, but I kinda don’t think it makes a difference either way!!! No preview pics of the Shana stuff! Plus I think I might have to re-shoot. There were some technical problems….! I just ate some super delightful “reserve” gouda cheese, and now I’m going to have a hot drink and crochet a candy button scarf! xoxo

I am about to go to bed (4:30am) but I know a lot of you are already waking up (at least in other time zones)!!! Thought I’d share a little morning Bibi with you. Hairy says she gets the foot-dangling-off-the-bed thing from me! The dogs usually are not allowed to fall asleep on our bed at night (mandated by Hairy) but they somehow end up on there when I wake up! Bibi is really….. gooey and drooly, so the worst part is that she leaves her mouth goo ALL OVER THE SHEETS and even sometimes on my PILLOW (like when she asks for a morning spoon sesh). It’s ok. I still love her.

I recently purchased a cute panda-balloon print of a painting by Elsie from Red Velvet Art. It now sits very cutely on the wall by my tiny work area! We got a frame at Michaels and it was 40% off. Hairy and I have a habit of collecting prints here and there, but never framing them or getting them up on the wall. This is because so many of these prints need custom framing, and custom framing IS SO EFFING EXPENSIVE!!!! Kinda makes me want to make sure a print is a standard size before buying it, because I can’t keep spending $100-$200 for custom frames. It’s a little frustrating! Even with the custom framing “sale” at Michael’s, the frame and mats we chose came to like $180!! $160 without the mats! Carumba! So Elsie’s got up on the wall right quick, since it was good old 8 x 10! In other news, our washing machine broke and would not kick into the final rinse. I had a machine full of water and soggy clothes! The repair dude came today and said that we needed a new pump, that the motor had burned out because the pump was all CLOGGED. At first he said it was all green, which made me think of the two times I put the kitchen rugs in the washing machine…… but Hairy said he saw a mass of fibers and that all my machine felting/fulling of cute-tility packs and zipper pouches also seemed the culprit. Bummer!!!!! I’d read that people had to have their washing machines repaired due to all the fibers from machine felting, but I figured that with all the dog hair going in there, too, that it wouldn’t make a difference. In order to avoid hurting your machine, you should place your knitted/crocheted items in a zippered pillow case. This way, many of the fibers will remain in the pillow case. However, I always found that my items would scrunch down into the corner of the pillow case and come out deformed and unevenly felted, so I preferred to chuck things in there freestyle. Guess I can’t do that anymore!! Not really sure how I’ll resolve my scrunch problem….but I’ll think on it! Tonight, Hairy made goulash in the slow cooker. It was good! Right now I’m refining my pattern for bacon and eggs scarves and eating nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt with granola. If you haven’t tried Greek yogurt yet….IT’S A MUST!!!!!

This weekend we saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in RealD 3D. The movie was really cute. How could I not like it? It’s filled with GIANT FOOD!! We took a pic with the three of us in our 3D glasses but (A) they kind of look like our normal selves with our normal glasses and (B) we think that Manda has the pics on her phone! But I didn’t think the 3D effect was as good in this movie as when we watched My Bloody Valentine in RealD. When I said on Twitter that I don’t really like watching animated movies, I felt like I had just said Santa Claus didn’t exist. It reminded me of the time I mentioned that I don’t actually like eating the frosting on cupcakes, and the internet gasped. It’s true, I refuse to watch Lilo and Stitch to this day. I have no idea why. I think it has to do with that I think they made her eyes too far apart or something….ANYWAY!!! We also celebrated my dad’s birthday by going to Broadway Prime for prime rib. I thought it would be neat to make him home-made spicy beef jerky since he likes super spicy stuff, so Hairy made (what I am told) is incredible Thai Spicy Jerky!!! (It’s too spicy for me to try!) I think it was a hit, though, and I’m excited to try to formulate a Hamburger-flavored jerky! I never remember to bring my point and shoot anywhere, so these pics from dinner are from Hairy’s iPhone!! It was served with popovers (yum!), a choice of potatoes ( most of us got the garlic mash), and a choice of creamy corn or creamy spinach. I got the spinach, but it was ALL CREAM AND NO SPINACH. I couldn’t eat it. It was like eating spoonfuls of butter with some green flecks inside of it. Tonight, while Hairy was out, I finished off the rest of my prime rib with my hands. I admit, that when I eat alone, at home, I usually eat REALLY fast and REALLY gross!!!! There’s no time to linger. There’s other stuff to do!!! LIKE MAKE STUPID VIDEO CLIPS! I didn’t even bother to warm up the meat. But that’s ok… it was easier to pry off the cubes of FAT!

My mom asked me to make this for my auntie’s bday in Hong Kong! Click HERE if you want to see it bigger. I had a lot of fun making all the berries but they were kind of a pain to sew to the top, all in the correct direction and place. I wish that I would be ok with just gluing them on…that would be so much easier!! But for some reason, I have this idea in my brain that glue = bad if sewing is an option. What do you think? I also updated IEatYuckyStuff.com. It’s an eggriffic update… In less yucky food news, here are a few snaps from Hairy’s phone of some of the snacks we have been enjoying! Ok so this might belong in “yucky stuff” but I think it’s yum!!! We went to “Porridge King” for dinner and I ordered a red bean ice. It’s crushed ice, sweet condensed milk and some red bean mush. IT’S GOOD. My favorite fro yo combo is original tart, with fresh strawberries, and Cap’n Crunch. I do not stray. Once I strayed, and it was super yucky, so, now I just get the same thing all the time! Here I am eating a nutella banana crepe from Crepes a Go Go (I think that’s what it’s called), which is this little truck around DNA Lounge. It hit the late nite spot! I am off to make more scarves!!! BYEEE!!!

click go see a slightly bigger size if necessary Soooooo, next month, I am going to be in my friend Margaret’s wedding (I also have to prepare a speech/toast!). I have known her since highschool, but she lived in Taiwan for many years after that. Now she lives in Houston where her man lives, so that’s where we will be going to celebrate with her! She asked me to be her maid of honor, altho, I really don’t know what that means. They are not really having bachelor/bachelorette parties or anything, plus, she’s in HOUSTON, so I’m not really sure what my duties are, if any, before the big day. Here is a pic of the bouquet she is trying to get her florist to re-create, so you can see the wedding colors. They have changed a couple times, so I’m not really sure, but I think the three main ones are red, white, and light-orange. Since my dress is red, she suggested light orange or peach (not too pink) hair flowers. This has been an interesting adventure as well. Anyhoo, my problem now is what to look like on her big day. It is HER big day, so I do not want to stick out like a sore thumb as the big freak from San Francisco. She is perfectly fine with me as I am, in my freakish glory, which I totally appreciate, but I also don’t want to look like a hot mess in somebody’s wedding. I dyed my hair back to mostly black for my brother’s wedding, but I just really don’t want to put my hair through going back to black and then going back to pink again. So HAIR is one problem. I see a few options: 1) eff it and just have dark pink hair + primary/blood red dress (ew?!) 2) dye hair RED to match dress (also ew?) 3) wear WIG (not my fav as is itchy and uncomfortable and hot) I have been trying to find a wig that might work for me. Ideally, I would like a little bit of “bouffant” in the crown, but this seems difficult to come by unless you want Halloween Amy Winhouse hair. Some options: I feel like most of them are so smooth and flat on top that it will make my head look weird, but it’s hard to tell unless I put one on my head. If I had to pick between those 4, I would probably pick 1 or 4. Shoes. So I just threw on the shoes I own that mostly resemble heels. I’m told the other bridesmaids are wearing RED SHOES, so I guess I have to go get some red shoes!!! The bride said to just go to Payless Shoe Source and buy some cheap ones that I will never wear again. Jewelry? OMG. I have no idea. I’m terrible with accessorizing properly… pearls? I always default to pearls because I think that’s what normal people wear. HAHAHAH. Um, so […]

Last night, Hairy and I had quite the random adventure! The weather was really rainy and poo-y and I didn’t super feel like leaving the house, but I also wanted to support my cute neighbor Tiffany Star‘s art show at Candybar. ******EDIT********* She posted some pics in her journal! Right here. As it turned out, we had a delightful evening!! We headed over to Candybar around 8:30ish. I got a Strawberry Kiss, which was sparkling wine, ginger ale, and some strawberry syrupy stuff. It was num num! Hairy got a michelado which was beer, lime juice, salt, and tabasco. I think he bonded with the bartender over the delightfulness of his bev. The desserts were really strange! I can’t even remember how to repeat them!! But I figured that we should try one, and we ordered something called the Fudgsicle, which included CANDIED CORNNUTS!!! I was also so so so so happy to have some time to chat with Miss Tiffany. Not only is she super adorbs, but she is also a really talented painter! We were eyeing some of her smaller pieces, but unfortch they were not for sale :P. She and I bumped into each other at DNA Lounge once a couple years ago, and then, while walking our dogs, we discovered we were kinda neighbors! I’m stealing some close-ups of her larger works for sale from her myspace! Her bf Daniel is also super duper nice. A bunch of us went to Bagdad Cafe afterwards for eats. Neither Hairy nor I have ever been to this place. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY!! It is open 24 hrs, and is yummier than Sparky’s!! I had a waffle and Hairy ordered a SLOPPY JOE!! AWESOME!! We also had a taste of Tiffany’s gravy on a french fry, and I must say that the gravy is EXCELLENT!! Her friend snapped a pic of us at Candybar, but, as per usual, I did not bring my camera since I know myself and would be too shy/awkward to ask for a photo. HAHA. If that photo ever surfaces, I will steal and share! I was super tired afterward and fell asleep on the couch around midnight. Then Hairy woke me up at 4am to take a shower and go to bed. Then I couldn’t fall asleep even tho my eyes totally hurt. Typical! I have one cupcake scarf commission to knock out and then I have to super focus on making samples for my book. I only have a month!! YIKES!!! Oh, P.S.!! Tiffany is selling a pair of the black Jeffrey Campbell Unicorn Heels in size 5 1/2, I think. Let me know if you are interested! I think she’s selling them for $50. No box.

1. I heart puppies, they’re my fave cougar pendant by veryhappyeverything. 2. Jeffrey Campbell Michelle Unicorn Shoe, in GOLD! 3. Geeks & Crossbones Tee by nontrendy. 4. custom Candy Princess dress by CrudeThings. 5. Natural Wool Pelt by modernfiberlab. 6. Raspberry and Plum Circus Stripe dress by ZidishaLuxe. 7. Fozzie Bear plaque by datamafia. 8. Pop Candy Hobo Bag by spiritedstyle. I forgot to mention that on Wednesday, Hairy and I went to see The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Now whenever I see someone hide their head behind a hoodie or a piece of cloth, I think they are Karen O’ing. As an aging hipster, I don’t fancy seeing shows as much as I used to in my early 20s. I just don’t want to stand up or wait around that long. Hairy is sort of the same mind. So we skipped the opening band before going to the Fox Theater in Oakland. The Fox is pretty cool!! Everyone who works there seems super nice, Hairy said the men’s room was remarkably clean, AND you can get a hotdog or hummus or other yummies there at the little bar/cafe attached to it. Awesome! The show was pretty cool. Karen O does a lot of slow lunging, stretching, and squatting. She makes being a rockstar look real easy.

So I was just going to try this on, and ended up deciding to wear it for the day. Fits perfectly!!! Originally it was strapless, but I asked if she would put straps on it. I’ll be the jerk at The Yeah Yeah Yeahs in a pink Barbie sweater dress. You’re welcome! Dress: morosemelonhead Necklace: Plastic Bat Hair bow: CutieDynamite So last night the new season of 90210 started. I think the show is terrible, but I’ve watched enough of it where I feel committed to watch it now. I can’t believe they got rid of Ethan. What the heck? Also, I’m a little over seeing Annie’s crazy-mad-frustrated-tormented face. The I-just-smelled-dog-poo face. What did you guys think of the new Melrose Place!? I’m so confused about how everyone is, cuz I was paying half-attention. I can’t believe Kostas from Traveling Pants is on it….and with no Greek accent!!! It boggles the mind, truly! I leave you with Bibi.

Oh my gosh, I’m not done listing all the goodies, but two neckwarmers and a zipper pouch have already sold!

I’ve been knee-deep in beads for the past few days. I really love hand-sewing them to EVERYTHING, but it’s so time-consuming and probably not the best use of the time/money equation…but I have to follow my heart and just blow 4 days sewing beads if I want to! All for you guys, all for you!!!! 😉 I just took product photos of everything and am now editing them. Tomorrow will be shooting the modeling photos (I may drag Manda into this if she comes over) and posting the listings!! One more exciting thing that’s been happening is the collaborations I’m doing with other designers so that I can have products that I don’t necessarily know how to make, like clothing and jewelry. I horribly photoshopped this horribly lit photo of a skirt collab with Poppy’s Wicked Garden along with one of my Princess Girly Girl Cake Clutches. They looked pretty cool together in person!!! I could easily walk out of the house decked out in Twinkie Chan garb and not feel embarassed about it! 😛 In fact, I wore this skirt to the MAGIC tradeshow. So comfy and so cute!! I will be offering 4 custom-sized tutu skirts in custom Twinkie Chan fabric. I’m not sure if I’ll ever make more because custom fabric is so expensive, so, I suggest thinking about snatching one up while they exist! p.s this particular clutch (with inside pocket, magnetic clasp, and optional gold shoulder chain) will not be posted up in the next update. I forgot to think ahead and order purse chain, so I want to wait for that to come in first. Also, I tested my gluing technique for attaching the sprinkle beads to the purse, and I was not satisfied, so I might either keep this one for myself, or post it later at a reduced price. This is why I started sewing them on! 😛 OK, back to editing photos!

I’m being so Asian right now!!! I grew up on this stuff! I want a photo one day of me, passed out on the floor, covered in empty Vitasoy boxes! For those not in the know, it’s a soy drink….basicallly soy beans, water, and sugar. It’s soy-riffic. If any Vitasoy reps out there want to sponsor me, I would be honored to wear your Vitasoy merchandise. May I suggest an insulated Vitasoy fanny pack to keep your favorite beverage cool while you are out and about? The first idea’s free…. Okay, now, I go and shoot product photos for Etsy update! I need to come up with fun names for my felted bows, like LuvBerry Cheesecake!

I’m making a handful of one-of-a-kind decorated bows. You’ll get to decide if the one you buy gets sent as a hairclip or giant pin (I wore mine as a giant pin on my skirt when I ran around the tradeshow). There will be all sorts of flavors and styles!! Once I get the bows decorated, I will get pics of EVERYTHING (bows, scarflets, necklaces, skirts, one-of-a-kind tees) and update the store! Almost there!!! In other news, this was fun to read outloud: My Immortal. I know a lot of you probably already knew about this, but I am a complete stranger to the fan fic world, and this just about blew my top off! Enjoy!

Hey, Gang! Okay, so I know this is not an Etsy update post…but I’m working on it!! I’ve decided to do a ton of handsewn beading, so now it’s taking forever!!! AHHHH!! Anyway, this post is about Jenny Harada’s book she is working on for F+W, called Me Make Monster! I will be contributing a pattern to it!! And if you go to her blog, it appears she is still looking for some mons-tributions! I am not known for being a monster-maker, but I sort of combined my foodie tendencies with some creature features to come up with a fun (and hopefully not too confusing) project! Here’s a sneakity peakity: Sorry I never got a chance to take a decent picture of it!!! I concocted it and made samples of it in a hurry to ship it off!! Last night, we unexpectedly ate dinner at Dessert Republic and then somehow ended up BOWLING!!! I only had my phone to take a video snip, so here are a few seconds of Rock n Bowl for ya! Um, I rule. That’s me with 2 strikes in a row. Unfortch, I didn’t make the turkey! I leave you with a cute picture of Bibi….being … cute. Hairy had piled up some pillows for himself on the couch, and Bibi helped herself to them!

Ok, this blog entry of Hairy’s is funny to me, because I have been taking pics of him and Bibi napping together since Bibi was wee. I’ve been holding onto this gem for some time. Perfect moment to bust it out:

1. Pink Girlie Mirror by DestinationDesign 2. The Alexis Smith Dress by Thrush (saw this shop in Elsie’s blog 3. Cute Bumblebee Brooch from RedVelvetArt 4. “Ice Cream Cone Donuts from KawaiiNails. 5. Paisely Peacock Tulle Flower Headband by Tarina Tarantino. 6. Red Vintage Peep Toe Sandals from thelasthurrah. 7. Pattern for Felted Cow Bag! by sonicka. 8. Cream Colored Strapped Ankle Boots by thecrumpetcloset On Tuesday, I flew to Las Vegas for the day to attend the MAGIC tradeshow. I wouldn’t normally go just for kicks, but my reps and I had a meeting with a company re: Twinkie Chan business, and they were kind enough to provide badges for us to attend. We walked the floor quite a bit and checked out a bunch of brands. I ran into Susan of ModCloth.com and also saw Ted from Poketo. Those were probably the only 2 peeps I actually knew there! I thought I saw Jamie from JapanLa, but she was talking to a bunch of girls and I didn’t manage to make eyecontact with her while we were walking by. I was there for about 6 hours and really didn’t get to see everything! Maybe if I get the chance to go again (it happens twice a year), I will plan to spend a little more time and bring a pal! After my meeting, which started a bit late, there was no time for dinner. I had to get back to the airport! The line for a cab was REAAALLLY long, like won’t-make-your-flight long. This one guy kept yelling that there was no line for a limo. When asked how much the limo ride was, he said $60. Split 4 ways with some other ladies from the tradeshow meant a mere $15, which was basically what I paid to take a cab earlier in the morning. SOLD!!! Smooth ride. No wait. Awesome tunes. What’s not to love? My diet for the day consisted of a Starbuck’s blueberry scone, french fries around 3pm, and then 2 Mrs. Field’s cookies around 7:00. When I got home, Hairy made yummy Thai Food and we ate dinner at about 11:00. It was a carbtastic, long day! I leave you with a sweet video clip of the limo party. I was actually nothing like a party, which made the setting even more funny. (OK it’s really fuzzy and pixelated and basically looks like a sonogram. Sorry. It’s all I got.) I hope my next blog update will be all about new stuff on ETSY!! I still need to finish some items and shoot photos of them all tomorrow! Oh, P.S., here’s a photo that Hairy snapped of me when I got home from Vegas…..TIREDZ!!!! My head is on Bibi’s butt, and her head is on my knee. Nap snuggling!