The Senakams | Corgi + 3

A Very Belated Letter to Eva: One Year Later...

Dear Eva,

Mommy has to confess. I've broken a very important promise to you. It was with fanfare that I declared your birthday as the "Annual Write my Daughter a Letter Day" just a little over a year ago, and as you can see, this blog has seen nothing but cricket chirps since, and I have written you jack, zip, nada... this whole, entire year.

So where have I been? By the time you can read this, you probably won't recall any bit of this whirlwind of a year we've had. 2011 was the year we took on an adventure around the world, and in 2012, we took on a different adventure, the kind of journey that took our lives to a different place in an unexpected way...

Let's see if we can sum it up in pictures (and videos)... be ready, it'll be a looong one, here we go...

After having spent 2 and a half precious years with you at home, your Super Dad decided it's time for him to go back to work. It was bittersweet, there were tearful goodbyes and exciting late night excursions to the hotel to pick daddy up. With some difficulty, mommy has to quickly grow up and learn how to be mommy again, but it was evident that you were ready to let go and grow up yourself. And grew up you did...

You were 2 going on 15...

OK, calm down, we didn't actually let you drink that delicious glass of chardonnay, well, at least not that time...

You've also grown a lot more physical this past year. It looks like when daddy let go of his white-knuckled grip nurturing hand, your inner dare devil was unleashed.

And now, you like to tear up the asphalt on your balance bike...

And enjoy exhilarating sleigh ride courtesy of Bryson (at almost 9 Bry Bry is still going strong!):

 

But it doesn't matter how many blue and green outfits I put you in (which seems to be a lot), there is a girly side of you that is dying to burst out and show the world your pinkest, fluffiest, twirliest ballet moves (and check out those expressive hands)...

 

Well, it'll be a few more years before you go to Julliard, so in the mean time, let's remember you actually turned 3, and with that comes the momentous passage from toddlerhood to the next phase...

First day of preschool.

Even though you looked a little unsure here, we were pleasantly surprised how quickly you warmed up to school. In mere minutes after this photo was taken, you were off in their playground, climbing, swinging, digging in the sand, and never look back (all the tears belonged to your daddy and I on this first day). Your teachers at school says you're one of the most joyous, exuberant (I think they mean "loud" in a nice way) and kinesthetic (physical?) kids there. And we're just amazed how you learned all the kids (and their parents) names in the first weeks of school. You've even made some "best friends", Miles, Camilla... Words just can't describe how proud we are of you.

And to make up for the lack of a real birthday party last year when we were in China, we celebrated your 3rd one BIG this year, and yes, with a REAL fairy... Ooooh... you're still talking about "Daisy Fairy", and other moms are still cursing reminding me of it, LOL...

And you're always the good sister to Bryson, making sure he's well groomed and photo ready on your birthday.

And mommy is glad to have the excuse to break out my new laser cutting machine to craft your party invite. It took some trial and error and many trips to various paper stores, but I absolutely adore the final product, and the creative process is so therapeutic...

And creative therapy is something I unexpectedly had a lot of time for this year. Your daddy and I took a 180, as he re-embraced his work life and I left mine behind this summer...

Yay for my right brain! The luxury of being able to learn something new (laser paper cutting), catalog my archives of paper and fabric (whew!), whip up projects whenever I want (well, when I don't have my hands full taking care of you)...

Allow me to indulge myself in a not-so-brief recap of my creative endeavors...

Every fairy needs a hand made fairy wand, this one made from a huge mass of gingko tree clippings mommy diverted from a dump truck outside Emeryville city hall...

This is how much tulle goes into one little girl's tutu... absolutely nuts. And all of us exuded glitters from every orifice (uh hmm) for the next few months...

Crayon roll, just coz I feel like using some pretty fabric. Of course the crayons still prefer to roll around under the couch, behind bookcases and other general nook and crannies visiting dust bunnies.


Another project I get to use my laser cutting machine, Auntie Van's baby shower invite with a tea party theme. As you already know, you and Baby Austin are forever tied together by fate, when he decided to meet the world early so he can have the exact same birthday as you.

And let's not forget the 20 party favor bags the Senakam sweat shop mommy lovingly hand sewed in 3 days, while whipping you through potty boot camp (you were a total champ, no accidents after 2 days, woo hoo!)

And no, I didn't part time at a tattoo parlor, but did pick up face painting for fun, since you love getting your face painted at fairs, and mommy is, well, frugal, why pay someone to do it when you can do it by yourself, right? Don't ever forget you're half Chinese, frugality is in your blood. 



And last but not least, the matching outfits for Halloween for you and Bryson! Now this is really becoming a yearly tradition, starting from Pharoah and sphinx, to vet and patient, red riding hood and big bad wolf, and now...

Fairy Princess and her Magical Steed... hee hee!



Wow, that was a lot of fun stuff we created together this year. And if you still wonder why mommy didn't have time to write you, well, remember when we dug up every single little thing in our loft, shoved them in boxes piled all the way to the ceiling, and one day hauled everything to this strange little house in the woods?

Yeah, we moved.

I won't miss the crazy, endless days and nights of purging and packing (that's your daddy reminescing in the old US Marine hat he dug up from the Crypt, you'll have to ask him about it)

But I'll miss sunsets like this from our windows...

The quiet little moments we shared in our home...


And the neighbors who have filled in as families since you were born...

And now, as we're just beginning to settle in our new abode in the woods, with Thanksgiving coming up in less than a day, I can tell you how truly thankful I am of having you in our lives.

Even though you're little and have to hold my hand when we cross the street, in so many ways you're the one guiding us through life in chaotic, turbulent times...

You remind me where my priorities should be when I'm confused and overwhelmed, you show me the beauty of a quiet moment between just you and me, you teach me that I still have lots to learn in the departments of patience, generosity and letting go, you remind me to own up to my emotions, and remember when to say "please", "thank you" and "I'm sorry"...

This post is going dangerously long already as it is, so I'm just going to conclude with some photos of our adventures this year. Love you, baby, looking forward to many, many more years of adventure with you, your daddy and Bryson.

Sewing Red Riding Hood and "Grandma"

To be completely honest, I've been dreading Halloween all summer... how could I ever top the Pharoah and the Sphinx? *sigh*

I almost made them hippies (inspired by some of our neighbors, which would have been a bit unfortunate...), when I came across this super adorable fabric at Stonemountain one day and thought, hey, that kinda look like Bryson...

And a couple of yards of flannel and lace, a pair of thrift-store reading glasses, and a few hours of quality time with my sewing machine later...

Voila! Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf aka Grandma materialized:

Nothing will ever top the pharaoh and the sphinx, but I have to say I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. 

Bryson's "outfit" is basically a lacy-shower-cap-type-thing, plus a coat with more lace (he has to channel "grandma"). I used the same flannel as the inside of Eva's cape, and based it loosely on a few shower cap tutes I found online.

For the best Big Bad Wolf Posing as Grandma look, you want the ears to show. I contemplated making a bigger cap and cut holes for the years, but I wasn't sure if I had enough lace, so I made a smaller one that sit between the ears.

For this effect, you wanna eyeball the amount of real estate between your doggy's ears, and cut out a piece of round fabric a few inches bigger (for the rim and puff-factor). Then cut out a piece of lace (the more grandma-sy the better) and pin it all around the flannel:

Sew the lace on near the inside edge, then another line about 1/2" on the outside. Then, I was supposed to have 2 pieces of elastic, one threaded through the 2 lines of stitches to cinch it, and another that'll go around his chin to secure it. I was lazy and just used one continuous piece, and I didn't even bother sewing them in place... they were all safety-pinned (shh...). Oh well, it's a pile of lace on top of a dog head. It's good enough.

Oh, and for optimal puffiness, stuff it with tissue:

And for Eva's cape, I looked and looked and found mentions of a couple of patterns in a 2 sewing books. I looked through the reviews, I compared the projects, I debated which one's better...

I broke down and bought both.

I can't help it, look how adorable they both are!

First is the Oliver + s book by Liesl Gibson. You may be familiar with their super adorable kid's clothing pattern. I love the retro twist. Sooo cute...

Then I got the Growing Up Sew Liberated book by Meg McElwee. So many beautiful and practical projects for babies and kids. 

See, both capes are on the covers! I browsed through both, and based on the time I have (not much) and how much the cape I think will be used (not much), I opted for the easier one from the sew liberated book. 

As you can see, it's basically a semi-circular piece (or 2 if you want it lined) of fabric with a hood attached to it. This is my first time making anything with a hood. One trick I found out is that if you use thicker fabrics (like I did, I used 2 layers of flannel, I imagine fleece or velvet would be the same), see how thick the seams get? Make sure you clip the curves really well, and I clipped the seams a little too to make it less bulky.  

Another trick to up the cute-factor? Find a really gorgeous button! It's really front and center in this outfit, so make sure you choose well. For the sweet fairy-tale look, I chose a really big and woodsy button. 

Oh, and one more thing I've observed from this pattern. The hood is really pointy. I've rounded it off just a litte, but it's still gnome-ish. If that's what you want, that's great. I'll probably use a round plate to round it off some more next time (if there's one).

So there. Another Halloween! Now that my sewing brain is tickled, I'm really looking for more time to whip up a few more things this holiday... We shall see.

10 Things I will (won't) miss about China- Part one

It's hard to believe, only a few months ago I was still fantacizing about our epic journey to China, and now, our brief adventure in Middle Kingdom is almost over!

In fact, my last day at work took place last week under torrents of tears... And I am an ugly crier who have diaphragm-seizures and can't talk properly when crying. I don't think any of my fond words of farewell was intelligible... ugh, I wanted to dig a hole to hide in it for days after.

And not just out of embarrassement (although there was plenty of that). I think I was genuinely a little depressed about having to leave. I mean I totally miss Bryson (who, by the way, as some of you know has been hospitalized in Texas but is OK now), I miss our cozy little home, and with that incredible heat, the crowds, the squatty potty... I should be thoroughly excited to go home. 

But yet I kinda am, and kinda not.

Why? Well, I think I've started to get comfortable in this alternative reality. For better or for worse (and sometimes truly horrifying), this has been our lives for the past few months, we've learned to live with and even appreciate the idiosyncracies living in China. 

I want to write about them before we actually leave, so I can remind myself to savor them one last time, be it sweaty, teary or phlegm-y (yuck), before we go back to "normalcy" on the other side of the planet. I have a feeling normalcy is not going to feel feel quite normal for a while though...

So, what will I remember "fondly" of China? Here they are, in no particular order:

(1) Weird eats.

This one needs no further explanation. Remember my first encounter with duck neck? Yeah, I did try some eventually. Turns out it tastes much less exotic than it looks- it's basically duck jerkey with lots of bones. Dig the jerky, don't get the bones (Chinese loves their meat on bones).

Another treasured Chinese delicacy is the variety of dried seafood, although the Chinese takes full liberty in the definition of sea "food"...

Take for example dried sea cucumbers: when cooked it looks no less disgusting and has a gelatinous texture that most of my American friends will probably cringe at, I happen to like it though. Wiggly sea jello, yummm...

"Breezy blueberry flavor" Lays potato chips, anyone? It's hard to describe what it tastes like- it's sort of like blueberry jolly rancher tossed with msg + lots of salt. It does taste as weird as it sounds. 

What I will miss a ton though are all the tropical fruits... While I grew up with most of these, there's one that was indeed a first for me. And in fact, I don't even know if this qualifies as a "fruit":

It's a green shower head. Ha ha, or at least it looks like it, doesn't it?

It's a lotus pod. As I learned from my Wuhan coworkers, you split it open and eat the seeds inside. I've had the candied variety of lotus seeds, but it's a first time digging my fingers into a pod for fresh ones. Novel factors aside, they're actually pretty tasty. Light and refreshing. 

Do you recognize any of these fruits below? OK, I cheated a bit here since this is a fruit basket our Thai relatives gave us when we got to Bangkok (thanks!), but most of these are available in China as well.

There's long-an, guava (in Thai they call it "farang", which literally means foreigner), rambutan (the red, hairy one), noi na (in Thai, the green, bumpy one, my fav), and mangosteen. Also wrapped in 3 plastic bags and hidden in the corner of our fridge is the monstrously stinky "king of fruits"- durian, my husband's fav, something I think smells like gasoline (sorry, all durian-lovers out there, it really stinks...).

(2) Death-defying street-crossing. 

I've told you that I've learned to cross the street here more or less like a local now, what I didn't tell you is that I still feel like it'll be the last time I cross the street every single time.

You already know that cars don't stop for red lights, and even when you're patiently waiting on the sidewalk, you're not safe, as motorbikes routinely spill over onto sidewalks, threatening to mow you down while you try to squeeze through the crowd to reach the street you're trying to cross.

Then when you finally get to the street, you have to watch the oncoming cars like a hawk, and cross one lane at a time whenever there's a gap. Which means the majority of the time, you're standing there in the middle of a 6-lane street, with cars whizzing by in front of and behind you, with motorbike handle bars brushing the hair on your arm which is standing straight up out of terror.

As un-fun as this sounds, I've never felt so alive as every day you feel like you could have died and not see another day. Thank you, Chinese traffic, for reminding me to live every day to the fullest!

(3) The smell of money.

What does money smell like? Come live in any big Chinese city and you'll find out. While I fully expects our homebase city of Guangzhou to be new and modern, I didn't quite expect it to literally "smell" like it too...

Take for example the gynormous luxury mall across the street from us boasting names like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Chanel. It was technically a construction site when we moved here 3 months ago, and after months of constant churning of the Chinese economic engine (think day and night 24/7 construction), you can "smell" it as soon as you set foot in the neighborhood: the mix of suffocating chemical fumes, dust, sweaty construction people, their lunch of mysterious aroma, and the sweet scent of luxury they pump into the mall that makes you think you need a $20,000 purse (yes, that's US dollars, and probably more now as our dollar devalues...). 

This smell of prosperity truly takes your breath away in more than one way.

And the Chinese national sport of shopping isn't limited to those with tens of thousands of dollars laying around, for the rest of us there's always taobao.com, the Chinese e-commerce site sort of like amazon.com, where you can buy anything under the sun.

I, for one, have to admit that I'm quite addicted to this online market with flea market prices. They actually have options like not having to pay for something until it shows up at your door. Crazy, eh?

Another unfamiliar aspect of taobao- you can actually buy living things from it. One night, just for fun, I put in "Welsh Corgi" to see what might come up. Instead of the usual cute mugs and t-shirts, real corgi pups came up, just like stuffed animals only more expensive...

 

(4) Being creative to be creative.

And perhaps because people are so busy taking advantage of the new economy, or that there's such a wide variety of mass-produced cute-sy stuff, that few seem to be taking time to do creative stuff just for fun.

I particularly felt the right side of my brain aching when it was Eva's birthday. Remember I crafted up a storm when it was her first birthday? This year not only do I not have the time, it was also quite a challenge finding good quality crafting supplies or outlets in China. I was getting really sick of all the cheap, mass-produced, character-laden stuff flooding the streets, I had to really exercise my creative muscle in order to be creative...

I was delighted when I came across this at a bookstore- a completely blank notebook of quality paper, all white except for the word "nothing" on the cover (sorry that's a mirror-image):

It was perfect. Nothing but blank pages along with some encouragement to fill them with imagination is all I want to give Eva.

Encouragement comes in the form of a "taped-up" birthday message I crafted out of decorated tape (yes, cheaply-made mass-produced stuff, but hey, you've gotta work with what you've got). 

This is what the notebook looks like today. She draws in it almost every day, as you can see it's seen quite a bit of toddler action.

And I do feel less guilty that annoying, blaring, plastic crap (which she did get quite a few of) wouldn't be all she'll remember her 2nd birthday for. 

OK, that's it for now folks. We're actually in Thailand right now, celebrating my birthday (along with their Queen's which happen to be on the same day), yippee! Will write more once we're back in Guangzhou. Stay tuned!

Hong Kong: Going Home

Before I recount our short and sweet trip back to my hometown, Hong Kong, thought I'd provide a brief update on Bryson, since I've received a few questions from his fans all over the world.

We skyped with him (imagine Bryson on the computer, think Ein in cowboy bebop, ha!), he looks spoiled rotten, all sprawled out on the floor without a care in the world. In fact he looks so comfortable that we worry he might not remember us... we're relieved to see that he perks right up when the 3 of us yelled "BRY-SONNN!" in unison. Whew! He still remembers us :)

And according to Uncle Jack, he's doing well and is a sweet boy in general... until he had a small episode of diarrhea, which was quickly controlled with extra steroid. But perhaps due to that, he started scavenging again... and Uncle Jack had to chase him off when he starts showing interest in his cousin's poop in the backyard. Ewww! But we miss you Bry, in all your poopy-eating grossness. Can't wait to give you a big, BIG hug again.

OK, now back to our Hong Kong trip :)

As you know, that's where I grew up, so there's lots of sentiments coming back after all these years. It's extra sweet that I get to show Eva the place I used to call home: where I used to live, where I went to school, where I had my first date (shhh...), but as per the usual toddler-rule, we were lucky that that we got to see half of that before she fell asleep in her stroller/ smeared melted chocolate all over herself/ had a diaper-related emergency and need to rush home (maybe that was the chocolate after all...). 

Here's one of the "must-do's" in Hong Kong- visiting the Victoria Peak where you can get a bird's eye view of the harbor and all of Hong Kong's concrete forest's glory. 

A super rare sight (at least it seems to us) at the Peak: "Dogs Allowed" signs everywhere! And people take full advantage of this, as there were more dogs than we've seen collectively anywhere else in Hong Kong and Guangzhou combined.

And from our completely unscientific survey, it seems that poodles are awfully popular here (the miniature kind). But guess what... it seems that corgis aren't that far behind, as we ran into not one, but TWO corgis on one same day in different parts of Hong Kong!

Awww, isn't she so adorable? Eva was totally smitten... It was a little awkward asking strangers if we can take pictures with their dog, but it seems that corgi owners all over the world know that it's a corgi-people thing- we love our corgis and can't get enough of them! Speaking of corgi-peeps, we met another pair of proud corgi-parents in Guangzhou a couple weeks ago whom we met through our blog (small world, eh?). More on that in another post.

And in case you're wondering, where do corgis go stretch their stubby legs in this concrete jungle? This photo above was taken at the Lion Club Nature Education Center in 西貢, only about 20 minutes from the densely populated neighborhoods nearby, but seems worlds apart in its greenness and serenity.

People and doggies can all enjoy the beautiful sunflower field...

Trails meandering through various area of exhibits (beware of mosquitos though)...

Beautiful lily pond...

Ahhhh.... after breathing in city fumes for a month, we were all happy to fill our lungs with fresh air, although next time we definitely won't forget our Badger Balm.

Another perk for being in Hong Kong? Hanging out with Gong Gong and Po Po at their swanky digs and being fed like a Roman king:

I know I'm getting a little off-track here, but feel like I have to post our photos from our local weekend excursion here in Guangzhou this weekend, as we're heading off on yet another trip to Beijing and Harbin in a couple of days.

We headed to Shamian Island, or 沙面岛, an area concessioned to the French and the Brits during the war in the late 19th century. It still retains a lot of its colonial architecture. We had a leisurely amble around the island, but were found guilty of rushing into a Starbucks as soon as we saw the sign (it was 90+ degrees out and Starbucks is the only air-conditioned establishment in sight). We can be forgiven, right?

Here's an interesting sight on the way to the island- transportation and sunshade in one. ingenious.

This totally reminds me of Paris on the way to Notre Dame...

Said evil Starbucks... 

Providing an evil iced chocolate for my toddler which she took for lunch...

But after a cool beverage, it's smiley faces all around :D These are boxes in apartment front gates for people's morning paper, how can you not have a cheerful day?

And the best way to conclude the day? Dinner of homemade dumplings over at a colleague's home. Yes! I have friends here, finally! Or did I invite myself? Well, let's not get lost in the details. 

And congrats if you read all the way down here, because I saved the best for last...

Today's our 7-year wedding anniversary :) Hubby got me this super adorable bunny ring while we were in Hong Kong (you can get it on etsy as well).

I love you, too ;)

 

 

Sheriff Bryson Goes Back to Texas

It’s totally surreal. To think that in 24 days, we’ll be living in a different continent. Leaving behind the familiar dinner table we gather around every evening, the comfortable corner on the couch, and oh, almost forgot, that certain canine companion who often occupies half of said couch which forces us into said corner...

While still distraught over the prospect of not hearing that collar jingle for almost 4 months while we’re in China, I’m happy to report that we have found Bryson a more-than-satisfactory solution- he’ll be living with hubby’s family in Austin, TX.

Remember our road trip there with Sheriff Bryson years ago? 

Yep, that’s where he’ll be showered with attention and kisses from his grandparents, Uncle Jack, Auntie Jessie, Cousins Sara and Tyler, canine-cousins Toby, Nitro and Coco, and feline cousins Mama and Tuptim. Did I mention they’re animal lovers? :) I’m just so grateful that his extended family is willing to take in our high-maintenance boy, where we know he’s getting the best care possible.

The only caveat is that hubby has to drive him there from home (we don’t want to subject him to the stress of flying in cargo), which, depending on how fast you drive, take 2+ days. Yikes. But to know that he’ll be well taken care of, it’s all worth it.

So now that our home’s going to be vacant, we’re looking for potential tenants while we’re gone. Here are some pictures, and I’m embarrassed to admit that we “cheated”... 

Well, assuming that prospective tenants probably aren’t too thrilled to see a houseful of children’s toys and general household clutter, we sweep our crap from one room to another, so we have pictures of each corner of our home in a relatively pristine state. Just imagine right behind my camera stuff overflows like debris after a hurricane. But of course that’s our little secret, right?

On a separate note, we are exploring different modes of “transportation” for Eva. At home, we have 2 strollers – a equivalent of an SUV for off-road hiking, and a compact one for everyday use. In China, our SUV will be like a tank on the busy streets, holy impracticality.

Even the compact stroller will likely be a bit cumbersome given that we'll be riding lots of public transportation, so we are exploring options such as backpack carriers like this one we borrowed from a friend: 

She looks so pleased to be as tall as daddy :) While more “portable” than a stroller, this may only be suitable for visiting parks and hiking. In the city it could probably double as a weapon, taking out people in your way.

Hmm, maybe I'll saddle up Bryson and use him as my ride...

I know lots of you have travel experience with kids on super crowded streets in Asia or other cities, any other tips on navigating around with your kiddos?

P.S. We gave in and bought her one of those backpacks... uh, she loves the monkey, that makes it OK, right? Please don't call Child Protective Services on us...

Oh, by the way, like our new profile picture? I'll never get tired of looking at these two :)

 

Goodbye, My Right Brain

No, I'm not getting a lobotomy (although some day I feel like I've had one). Just lamenting on the fact that with our upcoming adventure in China, I'm probably not going to have much time to exercise the creative side of my brain.

To help those right-sided neurons stay healthy, I'm going to indulge a little on this post in this past year's creative successes. And yes! That includes the quilt post that I've promised for the umpteenth time...

{trumpet and fanfare, please} May I introduce (once again) the first- and only- quilt I've sewn, based on this wonderful tutorial for the block and stripe quilt over at film in the fridge:

I chose this design mostly because there isn't a lot of precise piecing required, and I like the irregularity of the stripes and how I can play with juxtaposing solid and patterns. 

In laying out all the blocks, I made a significant discovery- almost all my patterned fabrics have big expanses of white (or at least whitish space) in it. I guess that's just what I subconsciously gravitate towards. But it became obvious that I need to diversify (or at least be more disciplined when I fabric-shop, easier said than done, ha ha), coz for this quilt, I could barely find enough fabric with colors to, well, give the quilt color.

And to my most (uh hmm, least...) favorite part of quilt-making: the binding.

I've heard that it gets easier with practice, and I know there are professionals out there who will do that for you for a pretty penny. Well, I guess I'm not productive enough to send any work out. And the truth is, to make binding look nice, regardless of the method you use (some of you have kindly shared many a tutorials with me), I guess the bottom line is to exercise patience. Which is something I don't have a vast reserve of. Oh well. From afar you can't really tell how wonky it is, right?

You may have noticed the recurrence of this lovely fabric in this following project: a seating pouf! Based on this super easy tutorial from Living with Punks. And when you have a multi-week/month project like a quilt on hand, it's nice to have a simple project like this that you can bang out over a weekend. Ah, the sweet smell of instant gratification...

Yes, those are Eva's initials, cut out of white felt and stitched on this most adorable ikea fabric (I machined it since I'm lazy, but for a more homemade feel, hand-sewing with embroidery thread will probably give you nicer results):

I've always been intimidated by piping, but this tutorial has convinced me otherwise. Hey, even I-who-hath-no-patience can do it, you should give it a try if you haven't yet! It just helps give your project that more "professional" look. 

Eva trying out her pouf... "Hmm, bouncy" 

Perfect place to sit down and water feed my baby. 

These pictures were taken about 5 months ago. She still loves to sit/ bounce on the pouf. I filled it with a polyfil type fiber, which makes it very lofty- perfect for bouncing- but to provide more practical/ supportive seating, a bean bag or maybe even bamboo fill might fit the bill.

OK, one last project, promise...

I finally broke down and got my first Macbook. About time, I know! Well, I can't let this piece of precious equipment travel naked, can I? I was so psyched to have found this super easy and stylish tutorial on prudent baby:

And that Echino oil cloth... So gorgeous, yet, sooooo sticky... I made the mistake of sewing it like normal fabric. Well, all I can say is, DO NOT make that mistake, or you'll want to gouge your eyeballs out with that seam ripper. 

Actually, scratch that. That's not all I can say. What I could share to spare you hours of misery: READ THIS OILCLOTH SEWING TIP FROM SEW MAMA SEW. I stuck the masking tape on the oil cloth directly (coz I was using a walking foot and sticking tape on the foot will mess up the "grip"). It was slightly messy removing the tape, but hey, it works!

Oh, and one last discovery- while attempting to attach the binding to the case, it didn't occur to me that I can't use pins since the oil cloth is so darn thick until the evening I was determined to finish this project. And I don't have those fancy binding clips... except, I have my daughter's hair clips! Leftover from this project. Voila! 

OK, I won't use that if you need a lot of precision. But in a pinch, these work. 

Whew! That's one marathon post. Kudos to those of you who actually read all the way to the end here. I plan to look back at this post whenever I feel my right brain twitching while in China. Or maybe I'll find a fabric store there and go on a binge. 

Happy creating :)

Tapeworm and ice, and everything nice...

Yep, people,  you read it right. Tapeworm- or the empirical assumption of it- is the pleasantry that welcomed us to 2011. Looks like my wish for a smoother-sailing 2011 isn't off to a great start...

Don't read this if you have a weak stomach or if you're eating- a certain canine house guest of ours (to protect his identify, I'll call him by the alias of Cube Log, ah hmm...) gave us a good scare by shedding these "rice-like" granules in his poop (ewww... click at your own risk). He has a history of this unfortunate parasite (he is in great shape, probably just happened to have ingested another dog's infected flea at some point), and so we wasted no time in bagging the "specimen" and rushing him to his vet (double ewww...). After a thorough exam of the specimen including mushing the "rice grain" manually (triple ewww!!), the vet can't say for sure but her suspicion is that it is not tapeworm, but decided to treat him anyway since the treatment (Droncit) is relatively safe. I was also relieved to learn that it's not passed directly from dog to dog (or to human, say, little toddlers who aren't too discernible in their diet). 

And just as we think crisis averted, Hubby did something to his elbow, and he's semi-out-of-commission (hence the ice in the title, I gotta find something that rhymes with "nice"), and the timing is just impeccable as Eva is hit by a double whammy this week, having a cold and horrible teething pain with 2 molars coming through at the same time. Bryson of course couldn't let everyone else have all the fun, and gave us a run for our money with diarrhea on and off all week. 

Seriously, 2011, that's mean.

In a show of defiance, I'm going to say that unfazed by this series of unfortunate events, I'm able to conjure up something nice (yep, that's the something nice in the title) that hopefully will mark a year of beautiful creations.

Here are some felt flowery barretts I fashioned out of paper clips for Eva using this tutorial:

If I may say so myself, so friggin' cute! This is one of those moments that I'm really glad we have a girl.

The hair clips I use look like this, and they have a "no-slip grip" design (that little plastic tubey-piece, I assume). I can't say for sure if it works or not against slippage, since the main reason for them coming out of her hair is what all toddlers do- pulling them out as soon as they realize there's something in their hair, not accidental slipping.

Oh geez, I need a manicure. Or at least file my nail. And according to my mom, who along with all Chinese moms claim to be well-versed in Chinese medicine, the white crescent at the bottom of my nail means that I have "bad digestion". Hmm...

Anyway, please ignore the completely irrelevant side bar. Back to barretts. If you want to know how I fashioned the beautiful yarn flowers, listen up- I cheated. Just head over to Anthropologie and grab a bag of these paper clips like I did for $10:

I mean $10 is kinda steep for 12 paper clips, but for 12 toddler barretts that sell for $3-8 each? What a steal!

The funny thing is (and all of you 30-something moms will appreciate this) when I excitedly explain the prospect of turning these paper clips into toddler accessories (thereby saving a ton) to the 20-something sales person, she looks at me as if I was speaking a foreign language. For a few seconds I couldn't comprehend that blank look on her face. Then it occurred to me.... I used to be this woman: young, childless, and blissfully naive of the future ahead of her where she'll weep for joy upon finding bargain children items.

*Sigh* Anyway, onto barrett tutorial. I started by disassembling the flower from the clip by undoing it and sliding the flower out, as such (the stitches that hold the flower on the clip also hold the beads in the front, something I found out through trial and error. Oops):

Unwinding 12 paper clips will do that to your finger too...

And once you have the flowers freed, just follow the tutorial above. You basically create 2 pieces of felt the shape of the hair clip (a shorter piece for the back), sew them together, attach the yarn flower, and stick the hair clip in. The only modification is that I also glued the clip to the felt cover, coz I know in the hand of a toddler, there's no chance it will stay put.

A seriously easy, peasy one-afternoon project! By the way, with regards to the felt, for some colors I use this really nice 100% wool felt I found on etsy, and some others I use this bamboo felt I got at a local store. I like the eco-friendiness of bamboo felt, but it's thinner and not as "luxurious-feeling" as the wool felt. And the wool one is thicker too. And you only need this micro amount of leftover from other projects, so it's totally worth it to use the nicer material (if you have it in your stash).

Here are all the clips in their full glory (actually, if you're astute, you'll notice that there are only 11... one less than what there should be. Let's say that trying to find one of these little clips in a sea of toys is like finding needle in a haystack...)

The split second I caught her smiling AND not having noticed that foreign object in her hair (yet).

And here's a precious out-take: prehistoric ape-girl. Love it.

Here's to hope that there will be more positive crafting karma for 2011 (and never to have to think about tapeworm again)!

FAQ- On party gocco'ing, sewing and bunting(-ing): Part I

Since Eva's birthday party, I've gotten tons of questions about her party goodies- the homemade bunting , the retro sweet-as-a-pie doillies, the spiced-up moleskine notebook favors, etc- that I decided I probably should do a round-up on the blog, since (1) I'm lazy and I want to answer all the questions in one shot, and (2) the guest of honor probably would have no recollection of the party itself, I hope that some day she'll be able to look back and appreciate the fabulousness of her first b-day bash.

So here, in no particular order, are the FAQs:

Q1: Did you make the bunting? Wait, did you make 2 buntings?? How long did it take you???

The short answer is: Yes. Yes. And forever.

Well, let me elaborate. Buntings for kids' parties are all the rage now. Just go do a search on etsy and you know what I'm talking about. And really, can you resist the temptation of such a "simple" project that let you piece together all your favorite fabrics in hang it in such glory for all to admire? I can't. Although this "simple" idea took a whole lot longer than I expected...

First, you have to cut out 5"x5" square pieces of fabrics, 3"x5" pieces for the top section (folded over), letters that I free-handed and then cut out of brown felt, gingerbread-man and asterisk felt shapes for the back (that thank goodness come pre-cut, here), lengths of coordinating trims and pom poms, and a super-long piece of yarn for hanging. Whew!

 

As if that's not enough fun, count this: "H-a-p-p-y B-i-r-t-h-d-a-y E-v-a-!". That's 17 characters (and thank god we didn't name her "Ophelia" or "Alexandria" or something like that). This means I get to cut- and don't forget about the sewing- the above pieces 17 times. Yes, SEVENTEEN. That's many, MANY nights after Eva falls asleep and before my eyeballs pop out. 

But well, when it's finished and all strung up, it's so darn cute if I may say so. I guess it's worth the labor of love (and kiddo, expect to see this bunting at your next 17 birthday parties).

 

And just when I thought I was done bunting-ing for a while, I looked over to the other side of the room, which somehow looks bare and lonely in comparison...

So I decided to make another bunting. And no, I'm not a complete lunatic, I have a 24-foot wall space I need to cover, and to make another similar bunting, it'll probably be done around the next ice age. So I opted for something that involves sewing scraps of fabrics together and hanging it off a couple of "rings". I literally finished this in one day (pardon the poor quality pix as I shot these against a blazing setting sun):

 

Here's a closeup of the ring, which is essentially a cardboard ring covered in some white silk salvage fabric, with various fabric flowers and more gingerbread men appliqued (ah hem... glued... ah hem) on it. The fabric flowers are super easy to make- cut out wonky circles of fabrics (cotton or felt) in a few different sizes, and sew them together with a button in the center.

 

Here's Bryson helping demonstrate the scale of the ring compared to a typically-sized corgi head (maybe I'll recycle this as a Halloween costume for him, ha!):

And here's the other part of this scrap bunting after it got taken down (which I'm thinking of repurposing as part of Eva's nursery decor):

 

Q2: Hey, did you make that crown too? And eh, where do you find the time?

If you must know, yes! I most certainly did make that crown. And where do I find the time? Well, this is the time I divulge my secret- I have one very capable, and very devoted stay-at-home husband, who kindly allows me time to craft while he tackles a budding toddler. I know, a woman doesn't get luckier than that *sob sob... dab dab*

 

There are tons of tutorials out there for felt crowns, use any you feel like, but they all boil down to these essentials: measure your kid's head size, cut out 2 pieces of felts that give you your desirable # of peaks and height (Eva's had 5 peaks and measures approx. 2.5" tall at the tallest peak). Fuse the piece of felt that will become the inside with a stiff-ish interfacing to make it stand up. Decorate the outside piece however you like- for this I made one gynormous fabric flower (with a pretty faceted mirror button in the center for some bling), felt leaves and felt birds, with a few embroidered squigglies to link them all together. 

 
Sew the two pieces together with a stretchy back (optional but thought it'll last her a little longer.) And voila! You have one adorabe felt crown.

Of note, I used a good quality 100% wool felt for the outside (the white layer) which is nice and lofty, and a bamboo felt for the inside which is much softer and less scratchy (but not as nice and thick).  But this combination (together with a stiff interfacing) seems to give it the right amount of body, and she never complained while wearing it so I assume it feels reasonably comfortable against her delicate baby skin.

And to make sure other kids at the party don't feel left out, I made paper crowns out of old maps and gold cardboard paper for everyone else:

Look! It fits Bryson too!

 
Whew! I hope I answered these 2 questions satisfactorily. I'll save the rest for post #2 (which hopefully wouldn't take another month to post :P) And if you have other great ideas you used for your baby/kids' birthday party, do share! This kid will turn two in the not-too-far future, and at my speed, I might have to get started soon.

  

Another Month Flies By...

Seriously, where did this month go? Oh, yeah, forgot I've got that thing called work and that other thing called baby.

I'm so hopelessly behind on updating the blog, I'm not even gonna try to re-create this past month. Just want to post some of these random snapshots of our lives, coz I hate to look back some day and feel like I forgot how fun life is when she's this age.

Here's Eva rocking what I call the "I'm-a-Girl" headband. I made her this head band coz most strangers on the street think she's a boy (and I can't always fault them since I don't like to dress her in overly girly frou-frou stuff). There I thought a pink and orange headband will no doubt solve this gender mystery, right? Wrong. In fact, the very first person that saw her the first day she wore this head band remarked "oh, what a cute boy!". Plain futility. 

As she's sitting more steadily on her own, we started putting her in restaurant high chairs (usually covered in layers of leftover food/grime/germs *eek*) She's totally psyched that she's finally "on the same level" with us at the dining table, and we have to admit it's kinda fun to have her graduate to table-sitting status, partially coz we can mess with her like decorating her head with fresh flour tortilla and she can't quite escape yet.

Daddy swears this "Little Stinker" onesie is jinxed. Every single time she wears it she's had a full on blow-out. For those of you who don't speak baby-ese, a blow-out in infant term means a major leakage of fecal material, in her case usually all the way up her back, occasionally making it as far as her armpits. I'm not joking. And yes, this day was no exception. When I bought this cute skunk-themed onesie I had no idea that it's literal. And we keep waiting for her to outgrow it so we won't be tempted to put her in it again, but I swear, this onesie seems to grow with her (she's been wearing it since she's 3 months old and somehow it still fits). You know what, hubby's right. It's jinxed.

Meet Shu Ren (Chinese for "Tree Man" literally, but it means something deeper which I can't quite explain), the first felt softie I've made, yay! It's based on this uber cute Softie making book, great projects, clear instructions, highly recommended (and Amazon's selling it for like $4! Crazy!) Sorry for the fuzzy iPhone picture, but I must say he's kinda adorable. Eva doesn't find him so attractive though (even though I tugged in a jingle bell), can't blame her, it's not exactly a huggable shape, should have thought of that.

Eva is a funny little thing- at 7.5 months, she doesn't want to roll over, she doesn't want to crawl, but she's very intense when it comes to her hands. She can play with a bottle for what seems like an unnaturally long period of time (in baby time, that is). She can already pick up a skinny crayon with ease. When she lay in her crib in the morning waiting for us to go pick her up, she's often spied (on our baby monitor) playing with her hands. And just last week, she started waving "hi!" to everyone out of the blue. It's so fascinating watching them learn.

A precious photo of Bryson's great great great great grandpa, circa 1972. Here's how we obtain this rare find. (Gotcha!)

And now that we're on a roll with crazy iPhone photo apps, here're more masterpieces:

 "I wanna be cupid when I'm all grown up" (OK, I admit, slightly freaky)

And last but not least, my fav, where she just snatched hubby's glasses off his face and is totally mesmerized by this new toy:

 

Give (handmade) and you shall receive (handmade)

I've been meaning to write about this for a while now, but you know the drill by now- work, baby, life, and all the lame excuses that go with them.

But one thing I did find time for (and was very happy that I did) was I got to craft a few things for friends and family (well, family being my daughter exclusively :P) this past holiday. And I believe in karma in our good universe, coz in return, we've also received plenty of handcrafted goodness, yippee!

Just imagine the collective creativity, TLC, and positive mojo that's gone into all these creations. I'm so excited I get to show them all off here! *drum roll please....* And in no particular order, here're the lovely goods:

A set of cute-as-a-button gocco'd cards (see them in the making here, scroll a bit down), made by Eva's very talented Auntie Aimee and her equally talented partner, Paige: (So proud of you, Auntie Aimee!)

Hoo~ hoo~~~ Whoa! Is that an oversized purple owl with smiley eyes?

Yep! Eva's the lucky recipient of this cutey bird (who has a removable cover, fancy!), lovingly sewn by my neighbor/fellow-new-mom Hannah, who said she's a sewing novice (who obviously belongs to a different league!).

And the lame neighbor that I am, I resorted to buying Hannah's baby a birthday present from a store in return, but I did at least manage to make a card:

And look! I made Miss Purple Owl a friend :) We named him Chefy. Chefy's an 8"-tall blob, free-handed and loosely based on this tutorial, who somehow ended up with what looks like a chef's hat on top of a tomato. I know, we're not that creative when it comes to toy names.

I stuffed Chefy with this bamboo fiberfill that's supposed to be green and non-toxic (well, it's on sale too). While all that's great, somehow it's not very squishy. A little lumpy too. Maybe I overstuffed it? Or something wrong with my stuffing technique? Anyone with experience with this fiberfill?

Please! Help make me squishable and huggable and lovable... Oh, and here's Chefy's behind, a little flat and lumpy (not unlike its creator's, ha ha)

Speaking of challenges, here's another one that maybe you can help me figure out. I tried to make a pair of PJ pants for Eva using a pattern from Amy Butler's Little Stitches (and some lovely Heather Ross Mendocino octopus fabric and a Park Slope fabric I'm sadly running out of):

Hey, looks pretty good, right? Well... when I put it on her, it looks like a ridiculous pair of baby low riders that give her a wedgie!! I feel like I should put her in some low-riding thong diaper, argh!

What happened? Hrrmph... while the instructions and construction worked just fine, the sizing was so off! I mean Eva is tall for her age, so I took the pattern for a 12-month-old (she's 6 months), then added 2 inches (plus seam allowance) on the bottom (one on the main pant leg and one on the trim).

Well, the legs were just long enough, but the novice that I am neglected the rise, hence the low rider effect *sigh*. Anyone with some quick tip on how to fix that (other than just adding a couple inches on top?)

On a more successful note, I did manage to sew a couple more bibs for Eva, as well as a set of bib/burpies/blanket for my dear friend Van's baby-to-be whom they've lovingly named Tarzan (I gave away the blanket and burpies before realizing I don't have any pix of them. Duh.) But I did get a snap of one of the bibs (the one below's for Eva):

These appliqued bibs (sounds so fancy) is based loosely on this tutorial, passed down to me from bloggie friend Sara. The "applique" on the bibs are simple cutouts from another fabric, stuck on with this Steam a Seam Lite stuff (love it!), and zigzagged around to secure and prevent fraying. The other side is a coordinating flannel (gotta have something absorbent for the gallons of drool that'll some day grace this bib). Not bad, eh?

 
And last but not least, this adorable abstract giraffe from Margaret, my moms group friend, complete with a jingly bell inside and ribbon tags to chew on (details that only a fellow mom would think of!) Here adorning our X'mas tree but most of the time in Eva's fat little fist being banged on her high chair tray when she's demanding her sweet potato dinner.
 
Speaking of our little diva's eating adventures, here's a video of her trying out solids on the second day. You've gotta love the way she whack at my hand when I wasn't feeding her fast enough (Caution: we sound loud and obnoxious):

The Pharaoh and the Sphinx

Why have a kid and a dog if you can't dress them up in ridiculous costumes for your own entertainment? (Isn't Bryson such a natural being a sphinx?)

And hey, she's enjoying it, right? The over-the-top headdress is a gift from my parents while visiting the King Tut exhibit at de Young before they left. It's then up to me to fashion the rest of the outfit in the 11th hour- raided my craft drawer for some gold-foiled paper and rhinestones, glue-gunned together with a cut-off bib with some elastics haphazardly sewn on the back. Voila! King Tut reincarnated! 

Miss Pharaoh, Mr. Elephant, Red Hot Chili Pepper and Miss Monkey mingling at the Halloween party (all saying "Are we done yet?")

Completely unrelated to Halloween. Just coz... 

A Small Scare

Thanks everyone for your well wishes for Bryson! He's completely recovered now, but the steroid they put him on made him a little kooky for days (think googly-eyed running-into-walls peeing-in-the-hallway weird...).

And as he's getting better, I've had a small scare with the pregnancy over the long weekend...

Long story short, at a routine visit, my ob examined me coz I was complaining of cramps, and was concerned enough to send me to the hospital for a whole bunch of tests to make sure I'm not in premature labor.

What?! Premature labor?? I'm only 32 weeks and haven't even had my shower or babymoon yet, I can't be in labor!!

Well, many hours in the hospital's L&D Unit's triage area, full of women in labor screaming bloody murder (quite unnerving), we were told that I'm fine, baby's fine, I'm not in labor, crisis averted. Whew!

But I was told that I should still "take it easy", which means no more belly dancing. Boo... But well, if that means bambino can stay in Hotel Utero as long as needed to keep her healthy, I'll oblige most willingly.

On a lighter note, I finally finished my first sewing class and completed my project! Here's me in the robe I made in class, using this Vogue pattern (that has a somewhat 80's ring to it and super "man-proportioned", which happens to fit me just fine now, LOL):

Oh, and that's a diaper cake my coworkers gave me last week, so sweet!

And here's the back of the robe, looking pretty good from this distance, but I was having some problems with the neck band... as I found out it's tricky sewing a straight band to a curved neckline, took me many tries (and quite a few more curses)...

But all in all I'm quite happy that it's done and actually wearable! Now that I've tackled this robe, I want to try sewing this baby kimono set (the one on the cover), isn't it sooo darn cute? Hope I can pull it off!

And here's a sneak peak of the components of the next project I started after I've got all these free time since dropping belly dancing class...

Yep, that's Bryson who's going to be making a cameo on this project! Hope it'll turn out as planned, will post pix when it's finished, stay tuned :)

 

Happy Mother(-to-be)'s Day!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions on our doggie-baby car situation! I'm sure we'll be trying quite a few of those out :) 

And as if the gods in the heavens heard our plea, just after I posted the last post, I found an article called "Dog and Driver" in the current issue of Bark Magazine that covers almost everything I asked about. Check it out if you're wondering the same!

And by the way, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms (and moms-to-be) out there! Love to hear about what you received (or gave) on this special day.

Hubby surprised me (on behalf of our daughter-to-be) with a bunch of cute little things- a gourmet icecream sandwich from my new fav icecream parlor Ici, a box of kanom krok (a tasty coconut-custardy Thai dessert from the temple), a couple of books, including Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing (super psyched!), and a hand-written card signed by daughter-to-be (awww... soooo sweet!)

I know some of you have already whipped up your versions of a few projects from this book, love to hear which ones you like most! And speaking of sewing, here's a little progress update...

As I was looking for relatively fool-proof, straight-line, simple baby projects to try my hands on, I found several versions of instructions on some very cute cloth diaper burp clothes.

It really is almost fool-proof: you cut out a piece of your favorite cotton fabric, sew it onto a pre-fold cloth diaper (that's super absorbent by design, I found this organic one by Gerber), and voila! You got yourself some fancy-schmancy burp cloths. 

 

And as demo'd by Bryson:

 

And as I'm now on a roll (can you tell?), I sewed a matching blanket to the mermaid burpies (don't you just adore this Heather Ross line?), which also happens to match the new Bumbleride stroller we just got (OK, it's a bit matchy-matchy but I can't help it!)

Here is Bryson again as our demo-baby, wrapped in my hand-made baby blanket (and yes, that's Picasso peekaboo'ing in the corner):

 

I know you folks probably aren't dying to hear about how excited we are about all the bells and whistles this stroller offers, but hey, all-terrain air-filled tires? Multi-adjustable back rest suitable for newborns? Universal car seat adaptor? Rear suspension? And a cup holder?? All at 19 lbs and about 1/2 of the cost of a Bugaboo??? That was enough to keep us quivering with joy for days.

And last but not least, as we're celebrating Mother's Day, can't not include some cute cuddly pictures of our first born, taken while we stayed this past week in the city while I attended a convention (Picasso's with us for 2 weeks while his parents are out of town):

 

 

Good nite :)

 

 

What's in Your Wallet? (A Bryson Credit Card?!)

It's been a super busy Friday (don't you hate love those?), but I'm so psyched about this I have to share with you in this post...

I was informed by the good people at MyCorgi.com that they have partnered with Corgi Rescue in the issuance of a MyCorgi.com Visa Card, where proceeds will help benefit corgi rescue!

Isn't that brilliant? And as if that isn't neat enough, wait till you hear this (drum roll, please...)

They've chosen Bryson as one of the faces of this credit card!

No joke!! Now YOU (and every corgi lover in the world!) can carry a credit card with Bryson's mug on it, isn't that nuts?! Bryson started thrashing around merrily as soon as he heard about his role in supporting this great cause (woof!)

To be fair, you can also order one with a cardi, a fluffy, or another Pembroke; whichever corgi you fancy, they've got one for you:

 

You can get more information and apply through this MyCorgi.com link. And honestly, I feel slightly embarrassed coz Bryson isn't technically a "rescue"- I mean we "adopted" him from his breeder when he retired from showing, and spared him a life of showing in Japan (sayonara...). So he's never lived life as a shelter dog... but anything we can do to contribute to this cause will make up for it, right?

I asked Sam, the owner of MyCorgi.com, how it will benefit corgi rescues, and here is his answer:

"Hi Ivy, we hope to support every rescue out there, it will depend on how many people signed up, the more people signed up, the more funds available to distribute. If you have a great experience with any particular rescue, have them contact us, we would love to establish a long term relationship with them! It is in our plan to travel around the country and surprise the recipients and have them share their story on video :) (Help us to make that happen!)"

Suh-weet!

On a completely separate note, if you live in the SF Bay Area and want to spruce up your living environment without breaking your piggy bank (or you can always whip out your Bryson credit card, hee hee!), you have to check this sample sale out:

I have sewing class tomorrow and can't make it, boo... I've heard so much about this much anticipated event, I hope some of you can take advantage of it! But get there early, I heard the mob usually starts gathering before the door opens. Do show me your loot if you make it!

Earth Hour (and a Sewing Update)

To honor Earth Hour last night, we turned off all the lights at home from 8:30-9:30 p.m. (OK, we cheated and left one on so the clumsy pregnant woman wouldn't trip and fall), and that's during dinner when we had Tube Dog and his human over.

We were so proud of our moment of tribute to the environment, but were immediately disappointed when we looked out the window (where we can see a good part of the city we live in) and saw that we're pretty much the only one (except for the Pixar campus) who turned their lights off... Boo...

But we did have a pseudo-romantic 3-people/2-dog candlelit dinner, and I have to say the peacefulness of it was quite nice.

On a completely separate note, an update on my sewing endeavors. After much spring cleaning, I've finally cleaned up my craft area and was able to bring out my machine again to see if it's still functioning (or jamming like it was on my last project).

Well, surprise surprise, with some adjustments to thread tension, it seemed to be sewing just fine with just an occasional loose stitch (see arrows). Oh and the notation is just the machine settings I've changed so I can keep track of whatadjustments I've made:

But of course when I thought everything's fine, trouble started rearing its ugly head...

All of a sudden, there were more and more loose and kinked up stitches, so with the help of Picasso's mommy (another sewing maven), we adjusted the tension and the stitch settings, re-threaded everything, checked the bobbin, cleaned off all the lint and dust, lubricated the moving parts, even changed the needle, and it only got worse... Just look at those super loosy-goosy stitches near the bottom in the photo above (and below, showing the reverse, bobbin thread in red):

At some point the machine completely jammed and stopped moving all together. Arrggghh.....

I can't think of anything else to do except to bring it back to the Viking/Huskvarna center when I got it from. It's still under warranty, hope they can fix it so I can start sewing soon! And any other suggestions are most welcome!

Oh, and by the way, speaking of Picasso's mommy's sewing talent, she totally surprised me today with this super cute knotted front top that she sewed:

And you know what's even more impressive? She didn't even measure me, and it fits like a glove! Which is especially hard these days when I seem to be growing by the minute...

Cheers to all the sewing mavens of the world!

Sewing advice, please!

All you sewing mavens, I need your help!

As you all know, I have no sewing talents. I tried my hands at a few projects before, but between the machine constantly jamming and one-too-many blood-letting sessions, I gave up.

To give you a sense of my sewing competence, this is one of the last things I did:

Look at it closer and you can see how wonky the brown lines are (ack!). However, a disclaimer on the 2 "defective" pom-pom's on the ends- those are Bryson's handywork. Guess to him they must have resembled some orange bunny's fluffy behind... *sigh* 

Anyway, that brings me to my current dilemma. I really can't sew, but seeing all the cute baby stuff out there that cost an arm and a leg, I'm very tempted to explore some DIY options (I'm Chinese through and through).

For example, how cute are these?

        

But wait, check out the price tag *gag*.

Which brings me to my point- I need to learn how to sew! And here's where I need your help...

(1) How did you learn how to sew? Don't tell me you're all self-taught geniuses, coz that'll rob me of all hope...

(2) Where do you find all the cute fabrics I see on your blogs? I know of a few fabric stores in my hood, they do carry some cute stuff, but I'm not sure how to choose ones that're suitable (in texture and weight) to sew baby stuff. Also seen this place online with a collection I'm drooling over, anything similar in the San Francisco Bay Area?

P.S. Specifically, if you know where I can get that orange/brown birdie fabric above, please please PLEASE let me know... I'm dying to get my hands on some. Even if I just stick a piece up on the wall.

(3) What should I start with that's relatively fool-proof? And where do I get instructions/ patterns for them? I have perused some sewing books/ websites out there, but to me they might as well be written in a foreign language. I'm that challenged *sigh*.

Oh, and I should mention I have some very cute leftover sock monkey fabric (about 1 yard each, pictured below) and tons of dupioni silk (not pictured) I'd like to use. I own a very basic Husqvarna sewing machine, pictured here in my extremely chaotic craft area, sitting in a corner, sadly neglected and gathering dust:

Speaking of chaos, I've just come around to spring cleaning today (technically only 2 days late, right?) Haven't done much, but pretty happy with these IKEA storage boxes (spruced up with some fancy labels) I am finally putting to use.

Also made a run to IKEA and picked up a bunch of these and these and these. Seriously, what do you do without IKEA?

Anyway, I'm rambling now. Gotta go assemble my IKEA goodies. Thanks in advance for all your sewing advices!!

 

 

A Robin's Egg Blue Wedding

I know I haven't posted anything on the creative front for a while now (just too lazy to get my photos organized), but this is what I've been working on since the beginning of the year...

My coworker's robin's eggs blue letterpress wedding invites, ta-da!

They have a mai flower (a Vietnamese flower that resembles cherry blossom) theme, and their bridesmaid dress is this pretty robin's egg blue (or at least that's what I'm calling it). We picked this Bockingford 200-lb all-cotton paper- very thick and luxurious but also tree-free (one of  my most fav papers). They also decided to go traditional with the design but without all the unnecessary frou-frou stuff (inner envelope, envelope lining, etc). Saves $ and the environment :)

Also we decided on an RSVP postcard (showing front and back), which saves postage and another envelope. Score!

Part of the unglamorous production process- matching swatch to ink to the pantone color chart (which gives you precise yet impractical mixing guide, e.g. 3 g of process blue + 0.03 g of yellow and 0.001 g of black... eh, I don't have an atomic scale) That's why there're all these trial prints laying around, it's hard to get a perfect match... *sigh*

One of the 2 photopolymer plates on the Vandercook press, this one containing the names and the floral motif which printed in blue. The gray text was printed in a second run using a separate plate. So having 2 colors really double the work for each piece- and that's why multi-color letterpress work cost so much more, folks!

But the hard work pays off! It took me a total of 6 Sundays from the design to the last step of the production phase to finish this wedding. I love my little labor of love :)

All in all, apart from the color matching issue, I'm happy with the results, and my coworker just got them and said they love them too. Whew! That's all that matters.

I think I might take a little break from letterpress. And since gocco bulbs purportedly contain mercury (or some other heavy metal a pregnant woman has no business being around), I'm a little leery about starting any gocco projects right now as well...

Maybe I can start sketching out designs for baby announcements (it's never too early, right?) I love this one that I did for my cousin last year, but I think I need some fresh ideas as well... if you have some feel free to throw them my way!

Mr. and Mr. January!

Just a quick note that Bryson and Picasso's "Hope Corgis" photo made the final cut in the mycorgi.com calendar! Yippee!

They're featured as Mr. and Mr. January :) I have a sneaky suspicion that it's the "Hope" rock which coincides with the theme around our new presidency that got them the January spot. It looks like we have a good looking bunch this year (with Gibson on the cover!), but sadly with the glaring omission of Theo :(

On a separate note, I got an e-mail from REphilosophy, a fellow Etsian from Milan, Italy that she had chosen to feature my "These Specs are Made for Reading" gocco card on her Treasury! I'm so psyched as this is the first time I make it on someone's Treasury, double-yippee!! And I have to say, this bunch is almost as good-looking as the corgis in the calendar ;)

By the way, a Treasury on etsy is basically a list of someone's "favorite things" on etsy, it gives the featured artist more exposure (especially if the treasury is chosen to be featured on the etsy's home page). I just feel so honored to have my little creation showcased among all these other great pieces (in fact I have purchased from the seller just below my "square"!). Thanks, Paola from Milan!

*Announcement*- I Won't be at Open House Today :(

Dear blog friends,

I know I have invited you all to come visit me at the Berkeley Open House today, so I'm bummed beyond words to tell you that I won't be able to make it to the event today... :(

Long story short, I threw my back badly yesterday trying to lift Bryson at the vet's office. I couldn't sleep all night, could barely walk today, and it pains me to even sit here to write this. And Bryson isn't doing too hot either, he's lethargic and not interested in food (for corgis you know that's a big deal). The vet ran a bunch of tests, and we're waiting for results today. In short, we're a pile of mess :(

If you still want to stop by the Open House and check out the stuff (my cards and collages as well as others' will still be there, just not me in person), please feel free to swing by. And if you do visit, make sure you leave your name and contact info with my friend Mitsuko at the cashier desk, I'll mail you the little free gift as promised on the blog as part of the giveaway.

Hope you all have a better weekend than we do, and if you're going to the Dixon Corgi Fair, have fun! 

 

Yours sincerely,

Ivy the Injured and Bryson the Ailed

 

New Holiday Cards are Here!

First off, may I remind you that the Open Studio in Berkeley is happening TOMORROW!

Remember, be one of the first 10 to come say hi to me to win free stuff! I'll be there from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. (For you corgi folks going to Dixon, swing by before or after, love to meet your corgis!)

I finally finished all the holiday goodies I'm going to put up for sale tomorrow. Now I just have to sort, package and label them all, which will probably take a whole day in itself. I also have to put them up on etsy, so my cyber friends don't feel slighted, hee!

Here's a sneak preview:

 

 

 

OK, I know these cards above may look familiar, it's a twist on an old design I had a while back. But this time I found a greater variety in feathers and couldn't help having more fun with them! The first photo almost reminds me of a science classroom project (match the bird to its feather), fun, eh? 

 

 

 

And these last 2 are part of the ever-growing Simple Life series, simply named "Simple Holiday" :)

This merry little lamb helps remind you what's truly important during the holidays. The rest is all background noise. 

The background is printed in silver ink on the gocco, and the lamb and text is letterpressed in 2 colors for a bit of holiday pizazz.

If you're interested, here's what the background noise says:

"Have you seen these doorbuster deals? Make sure you get in line before 3 a.m. to get that HDTV that also microwaves. But try not to get caught in a stampede. Oh, and be sure to get mom that GPS that can tell her where the nearest bathroom is that also rates it for cleanliness. And for Aunt Bertha, let’s get that theater-style popcorn maker that comes with a lifetime supply of butter and a free Richard Simmons video, she’ll be ecstatic.  I’m soooooo getting myself  that all-in-one fuzzy-logic washer and dryer that  automatically sorts clothes by color and material AND folds everything when it’s done. Dad probably has enough socks for the next century, I’m thinking of the Swiss Army Knife with an LED flash light and nose hair trimmer attachment. And are you going to re-gift  that rock  hard fruit cake you got from Cousin Vinny? Just change the  wrapping and  give it back to him, he’ll never notice.  And have you seen the  latest  Jack Lalanne commercial ?  Do you know that man is 94 years old?  Got  to get that juicer for grandpa.  Your nephew’s been begging for that  Destructive Lunatic video  game, make sure you get on the wait list for him.  Don’t forget to pick up that tempurpedic  temperature-regulated  dog bed with treat dispenser attachment for Bryson, I’m pretty sure he wants it in the microsuede finish in royal poo color."

Ho, ho ho! Hope you enjoyed it.

Day 29: Letterpress Business Cards for $70, Anyone?

You know I've been taking letterpress classes, and you'll probably remember these oh-so-luxurious business cards that I printed as my first project, right?

Well, if you're dying with jealousy and wish that you can have your own letterpress business cards but didn't think you could afford them, here's your chance!

Yes, my letterpress teacher, the very talented Kim at Painted Tongue Press, is offering this unbelievable deal on letterpressed business cards. For a mere $70 (not $700 Billion, whew!), you can boast your own exquisite hand letterpressed business cards.

And even if you don't need business cards, you've gotta appreciate their ingenius marketing campaign- their own bailout proposal! Ha ha, don't we all need one of these these days?

Day 28: Black Friday Shopping

We live close to a mall/IKEA complex, and I was already planning an alternate route last night so we can get around today without getting stuck in Black Friday traffic.

Lo and behold, after walking Bryson this morning at Point Isabel, I completely forgot about it and took the exit I should have avoided like a pest. There was almost bloodshed in a fit of Black Friday road rage. *sigh* Patience's just not my thing.

There actually is a piece of furniture we're looking for- a decent sleeper sofa. And there appears to be some deals to be had, but picturing the crowds made me feel lightheaded already (not to mention crazy incidents like this fatal stampede at a Walmart this morning). Scary, eh?

So I've been doing my sleeper sofa shopping online in the safety of our home today. I'm a bit conflicted- it would really work for our space, but I've had nothing but horrible experiences with cheap versions of these modern conveniences. The mattress usually sags, and as you shift to find a comfortable position the metal frame creaks like it's about to fall apart. You wake up more exhausted than before you tried to sleep.

But my research today turned up some reviews of decent sleeper sofas, boasting new features such as a built in standard mattress (no more sagging), solid wood frames (instead of creaky metal ones), and much improved designs so they don't look like they belong to your grandparents' basement.

The good quality ones seem expensive (although furniture seems to be the last department we've graduated from their college versions- so "expensive" here is relative). But I'm willing to invest in one if it means saving anyone even one night of sleep.

Any suggestions on where to get a good one that won't break the bank?

Day 25: Holiday Open House and BIG Giveaway!

OK, back onto the subject that I was going to write about yesterday- the Holiday Open House I'm going to be selling at *super-psyched*!

And, there'll be another FREE Giveaway! (Keep reading...)

A few of my letterpress classmates and my letterpress teacher will be selling there as well, I've seen some of the calendars, cards and hand-bound books they created/ letterpressed, they're SOOOO unique and gorgeous I think I almost drooled on myself...

And here are a few things I'm thinking of selling there (plus a few more "new" holiday items little procrastinator me's still scrambling to put together):

Here's a bit more info for the Open House:

I realize that this sale is on the same day as the Dixon Corgi Fair! Arrgghhhh... it couldn't be a worse conflict!! I know a lot of you local corgi people are going to Dixon, if you happen to drive by Berkeley maybe you can stop by our little Open House and say hi!

In fact, come to think of it, to thank you for driving all the way to Berkeley, I'm gonna do a Free Giveaway to the first 10 folks who stops by to say hi to me at this Open House!

Yep, you heard me right, another { Paper Elixir } Giveaway!! Remember how fun the last one was? ;)

And I'll make it oh-so-easy for you to win free stuff:

• Just be one of the first 10 people on Dec 7 to come to the Open House between 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. (location on invite above)
• Find me :)
• Say an enthusiastic "Hello!", and tell me this blog sent you there
• Voila! Free gift from { Paper Elixir } is yours

And no, there's no fine print, you don't have to buy anything (but of course it'd be nice if you do find a few suitable holiday gifts there) :)

I know quite a few of you "virtually", but it'll be so nice to finally meet some of you in person! So bring your friends and family and come see me hawk my goods in Berkeley on Dec 7!

P.S. For those of you who don't live in the SF Bay Area or can't make it to Berkeley that day, you can play too! Just purchase one thing from my etsy store that day, and you can get a free gift too! See, I'm totally fair-minded! :D

Day 23: Bazaar Bizarre is almost here :)

I'm so psyched, one week from today it's Bazaar Bizarre time again!

What's Bazaar Bizzare? Well, I really can't say it better than what's on their banner- it's "not your granny's craft fair".

Think of it as sort of like a real-life etsy. It's chock full of talented local artists/ craftspeople , selling their handmade and very hip and chic holiday gifts, jewelry, houseware, clothing, stationery, etc, etc. In other words, a very dangeous place for your wallet.

They're in SF next Sunday, and as you can see, you may have one coming up in your home town as well :) Consider yourself very lucky if you live in/near one of these very cultured cities, ha ha!

But you know what's more exciting than BazBiz? There's another craft fair in the SF Bay Area on Dec 7 (the following Sunday) that I'm even more psyched about!

Why, you ask? Coz I'm gonna be selling at that fair!

Where is it, you ask (because you so desperately want to patronize me)? Well, that you'll have to wait. More on that tomorrow! (Don't booo me, please...)

Day 13: Make Your Own Font

I don't know why it took me so long to catch onto this (I'm slow, I guess).

But you, my astute friends, probably have heard about this company, fontifier, which I just learned has been offering services to turn your handwriting, however awful (like mine), into a workable computer font for $9 since 2004!

I really wish I've paid more attention to my childhood handwriting lessons. Can you imagine how cool it is if you can create custom stationary with your own computerized handwriting, or simply use it in everyday business communications just to be obnoxious? Ha ha!

All you need is a printer (to print out their template where you'll write your alphabet on), a scanner to scan in your masterpiece, e-mail them your finished template, pay 9 bucks (a few lattes, really), and voila! You have your own True Type Font (compatible with both MAC and Windows). 

So, have you/ or know someone who's tried it out? Love to hear about it! 

Too bad my handwriting is so miserable it'll really insult the $9 I'd have to spend.

Day 12: "New" Letterpress Project- Part II

Enough suspense already, where is the sister letterpress card?? 

(Sorry, when one writes a blog post every day, one has to create an artificial air of excitement so you don't leave me for a more interesting blog...)

Hee hee! Here it is!

 

 

 

 

I hope you like the pair! I'll put them up on my etsy shop when I get my act together, and I'll see if Kelly will take a couple to put up on the pretty, pretty shelves at Relish.

On a completely separate note, I'm growing increasingly dissatisfied with the color on my computer screen. I know every computer screen (and pair of eyes) differ a bit, but one of my computers (can't figure if it's the PC or laptop) is so screwed up that when I touch up a photo on one, it'll look completely ghastly on the other (and when I adjust them mid-way, it ends up looking mildly screwed up everywhere).

I'm a complete novice on this and I need help (come on, I know a few of you pro's are reading this!). I've seen gadgets like this one (and similar ones that can go upwards of a few hundred bucks), and free ones like this that only seem to hurt my brain and strain my eyes...

Are the colors of my photos weird on your monitor, too? Any advice on what I could do?

Day 11: "New" Letterpress Project

This is the letterpress project on the Vandercook that was on my to-do list this past weekend, which is finally done (only 2 days late)!

And note that "new" is in quotations (*making obnoxious quotation gesture with my fingers*). I have to admit I kinda cheated a little with this one. You'll probably recognize that it's the same design that I have previously printed on the gocco. Believe it or not, I almost used up all the ones I gocco'd, but I like the design so much that I couldn't resist printing some more of them, this time on a letterpress for some nice, subtle textures.

 
I designed a slightly different logo/text for the back, which I hope gives it a good balance between style and legibility. Like it?

To redeem myself as a complete cheater, I should tell you that I actually printed 2 versions of this card (and thus taking almost twice as long, ugh). I think the other one turns out almost even nicer (maybe coz I wasn't expecting much), and they really compliment each others.

Wanna know what its sister card looks like? Then stay tuned! I'll post more about that tomorrow :)

Day 10: Gocco Swap- Full Glory!

It just occurred to me that I've left you all hanging about the latest Gocco swap I participated in! *gasp* Sorry!!

I actually received all the swappity goodness the evening before we left on the road trip, and thus had conveniently forgotten to write about them amidst all the post-trip excitement. At least that's my lame excuse.

And this time I got them ALL (all 30 of them!) in ONE big, fat envelope, coz the super organizer of this swap, bless her heart, had everyone send her their cards, which then she sorted, divided up and sent out to everyone. All the work it took... can you imagine? Totally deserve a big round of applause! *clap clap clap*

And here are all the gocco goodness in their full glory:

I'm sorry the quality isn't great (I was tiptoeing on a chair and trying not to fall over), but do try to enlarge it and appreciate each one individually.

This really doesn't do each piece justice as you have to touch and feel each of them, admire them up close, and feel the creativity and personality oozing out of each one of them. Just thinking about the collective amount of creative brain power, time and craftsmenship that went into this project gives me new hope for humanity all over again :)

And now comes the point of deciding what to do with all these great, little pieces of art (don't you swappers all struggle with that?)

I hate to stash them away for them to never see sunlight again (we received 2 of each so one could be used). I'm considering laying them out (like above) and framing it, like a gynormous mosaic-y collage, except for the fact that mine stuck out and wouldn't fit into this nice little configuration! Arrghhh... Any idea or suggestion?

To continue to be inspired, head over to this Flickr group where more individual photos of these postcards are posted by their talented creators.

Day 8: Weekend to-do

I have a pretty ambitious to-do list for this weekend. I'm pretty sure I won't get to all of it (as I never do with any weekend to-do list).

To help me see just how ridiculous it is, I've listed what I hope to accomplish here and how much time each item will take:

• Unpack bags from trip, clean up stuff scattered all over the place (3 hr), so we can...
• Roomba (1 min. to pres the "clean" button), whom Bryson thinks is his robotic half-brother
• Take Bryson and Picasso to corgi meet up (3 hr) (already failed, just realized what time it is. Boo)
• Plan B: Take Bryson and Picasso to Point Isabel (1.5 hr)
• Do grocery (2.5 hr) (Safeway for everyday stuff, 99 Ranch for funky Chinese ingredients, and Whole Foods for organic stuff that never fail to shock my pants off with their price tag)
• Make ginger-scented apple squash soup (2 hr) (yumm...)
• Make Chinese soup (which my mom said will help get rid of my "yeet hay" or "hot air") (2 hr)
• Visit car dealerships to test drive my new company car options (2 hr)
• Find a financial planner (no idea, don't even know where to start, just know we need one looking at our bank account...) 
• Finish printing 2 greeting cards at letterpress class (4 hr)
• Sort out and upload photos from our trip onto Flickr and make sure I visit all my contacts' photostream and comment copiusly (1 2 hr)
• Wander aimlessly at Michael's to see what crafty goodness is on sale (1 hr)
• Pilates (30 min)
• Gym (1 hr)
• Go through all of Bryson's photos this past year and find ONE to submit to the mycorgi.com calendar (probably too many hours, let's say 2 hr conservatively)
• Daily blog (1-2 hr for the weekend, depending on how much self-control I have over long-windedness...)
• Read all of your blogs and blogs you read and comment on all of them (1 2 3 hrs)
• Finish this up so I can make a mad dash to pick up dry cleaning before they close for the weekend (30 min), which looks very much like I'll be failing at this point... 

Whew! I think that's about it. So, let's do the math and add up the time needed...

Whoa. That's 29 hr 1 min! And it's already 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The only things I've accomplished are "grocery" and "pilates" (and partially "daily-blog), which means I have another 29.017 - 4 = 25.017-hr worth of stuff to do in the next 32 hrs not counting sleeping, bathing, eating, burping...

*Sigh* Smells like another successful weekened.

You know what though, there's one thing you can help me with if you feel particularly charitable today: below are some of the photos I'm thinking of submitting to the mycorgi.com calendar, help me pick one!!

  
(1) Spa Dog

  
(2) Hope Corgis

  
(3) Melancholic dog

Thanks in advance for your vote!

Day 1: { Paper Elixir } @ Relish at Home

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first day of my month-long participation in NaBloPoMo!

Yep, that's that crazy blogging-every-day-deal for the whole month of November. But I'm real glad I have blog friends like JuLo and Lynn and flanthrower doing this with me! It's kinda like having friends to join the gym together, so we can give each others a virtual kick in the behind when we slack off (but hopefully I won't need one).

So, remember I told you earlier this week that another store in the area started carrying my goodies? Wanna know who it is? Well, wait no more! I'm excited to announce that my gocco/letterpress cards are now sitting on the pretty, pretty shelves in the store...

Relish at Home!
An uber chic boutique in Berkeley, CA (7th St and Pardee)
(Check out all their rave reviews on Yelp!)

I was so psyched when I discovered this little gem that carries the most unique handmade items when I first moved to neighboring Emeryville a couple years ago. Since then, many a friends (including myself) have received their birthday/ X'mas/ house-warming gifts from here ("one for you, two one for me...")

And ever since I started making greeting cards, I've squandered away many hours, standing in front of the beautiful card display, and entertained myself with daydreams (with harps and everything) about seeing my creations there along with all these other gorgeous handmade cards that I drool for... (and if I actually drool I plan to frame Bryson). 

So, many moons later, when I felt that my creations have progressed to a semi-decent level, I gathered my courage and chatted with the owner, Kelly. And after talking to her for just 5 minutes, I wondered why on earth did it take me so long to approach her?

It turns out that apart from being uber talented and tasteful, Kelly is also super-duper nice, and totally supportive of local artists and craftspeople, and embraced the idea of carrying my cards pretty much right away! I was psyched beyond words :)

And here's the result:

    

Notice the very cute card display on the left (don't you love the colors?). And there, squint a little harder, do you recognize something familiar in the photo on the right? (hee hee!) 
There they are, 5 of my babies greeting cards among the sea of fabulousness! (The Simple Baby card is not pictured). If you're due for an eye exam, you can test yourself to see if you can pick them out :)

 

And while taking these photos in the store and the card display (which Kelly was totally cool about, even though it's slightly dweeby and a tiny bit annoying, I'm sure), I caught this photo above with her in a brief cameo (yup, that's her in the cute red headband reflected in the mirror, and the weirdly amputated arms belong to me).

I don't know what it is, there's something about her warmth and presence, not to mention the cute stuff that overflows the store, that makes this place really special. And I'm so honored that my little creations are part of this wonderfulness now :)

Simple Baby: Gocco & Letterpress Card

If you have a keen eye, you'll notice in my side bar that I have a new item in my etsy store! Smells like another round of self-promotion? You bet! This is one project I'm so excited about, I'm not even ashamed to do that, tee hee!

I know it's been a while since I've written about my creative endeavors, not because I've been slacking in that department (although I'm guilty of doing so in others), but because I'm seriously spending every minute I'm not working or sleeping MAKING something these past few weeks... OK, OK, maybe minus a few hours playing Wii Fit (yup, hubby got it for me for my b-day- probably trying to tell me something, hmm...)

There are tons of things I've made that I haven't even had a chance to photograph or catalog yet, including a huge order of collage cards commissioned by Rita (aka Picasso's mommy aka owner of the beautiful home store, Make My Day) (Thanks!)

But this one I'm showing you here had me pretty excited from the minute it's conceived (*secret giggles*). And without further ado, here's one of my "new" project (well, I actually finished printing this a couple months ago), "Simple Baby":

 

A 4-Bar size (3.5" x 4.75") folded card on 100% tree-free cotton paper, with the background text printed with the gocco, and the birdie/nestful of eggs imagery letterpressed on the "trusty" vintage Vandercook press (who always choose to cough up blood when I'm trying to coax it to comply) .

And if it looks somewhat familiar, you're not mistaken- it's indeed meant to be a member of the "Simple Life" line, you remember bunny, right?)

Inspired by all the crazy advice I've heard dispensed by well-meaning people to new-parents-to-be, and all the expensive baby gadgets you can bankrupt yourself with, birdie reminds you to celebrate the simple joy of parenthood- a nestful of safe and happy eggs.  

The imprint created by the letterpress in the birdie imagery is quite lovely,
but not so well captured here on the photo. Oh well.

And if you can't read the background text, here it is (sorry for the run-on's, I thought it better conveys the confusing and complicated nature of such monologues):

“You definitely want that all-terrain high-maneuverability stroller with this quasi- reversible seat and no-touch folding mechanism in “pea soup”. And don’t forget the cup-holder attachment. It’s on sale for $900! Is that eczema on your baby’s face? Try switching to that homeopathic wheat-free melamine-free taste-free hypoallergenic formula. I heard baby acupuncture helps too, but you do have to do it 8 times a week. And make sure your crib bedding is an all organic 30% cotton / 3% angora / 67% hemp blend and launder them in 89.5 degree soapy water or your baby could suffer from horrible allergies forever. I don’t think you should buy those dirt cheap store brand diapers anymore, Heard they are stuffed with recycled nuclear waste from China. Do you know that babies who learn sign language are 4.2% smarter than those who don’t? My junior can recite the entire Shakespeare collection in sign language by the age of 2. It might be too late for yours now but do try the Mongolian Immersion Program. Your kid will get a head start in life and you can thank me later. And I heard European women routinely breastfeed until the kids are 5 or 6. That’s how European women stay so thin. Those baby swings are a big no-no, your baby will grow up with a lifetime of vertigo. Sharing bed with your baby can cause in-grown toenail…”

Whew, some crazy stuff people say! :D But hope you appreciate the humor and dig this new creation!

I'm also excited to report that another very chic brick-and-mortar store is now carrying my cards! Where? Sorry but you'll have to wait (Boo...)

Not that I'm trying to create suspense (OK, maybe just a little), but I have to go back to the store to take some photos of my cards actually sitting on the pretty, pretty shelves so I can share that with you here (I know that's super dweeby but I'm so psyched I couldn't help it!). More to follow, promise!

Another Gocco Swap

After numerous futile attempts in identifying my cyber Russian stalker, I re-focused my attention to something more productive this weekend- I finished my 2nd gocco swap project! Yippee!!

You'll probably remember the last one- which was great, creating and receiving all the goodies, but deciding I have enough deadlines with my day job (which I already barely meet), I thought I'll take a break before subjecting myself to any other activities with deadlines involved...

But you know how it goes. As soon as I said no more, another swap actually found me in the little World of Gocco. And before I knew it, "Count me in!" came out of my mouth and now I find myself part of another gocco swap!

And this time, I told myself I'm not going to procrastinate. Well, I don't really have a choice- the deadline falls on a day when I'm in the middle of a family trip next week in Maine. So guess what, I buckled down (and resisted the temptation to catch the last episode of Project Runway on Tivo... a HUGE accomplishment) and finished my project ahead of time! Yay!

There's no limit to the subject this time around, as long as it is a 4 x 6 postcard. I decided I'll make something in the Real Corgis Speak Welsh line, just coz I think we need to spread more corgi love in the world.

And when it came to choosing some wise words for King Corgi to dispense on this card, I was inspired by all the quality time I get to spend with our IT folks this past week trying to get my computer fixed...

And thus born the "Gwahherdi E-Bost!" tag line- which is Welsh for (or at least I hope it is Welsh for) "E-mails are Prohibited!". It really exemplifies my the corgi's longing of a simpler world in this technological era.

    
Left: The 2 screens used for the 3-color front and one for the back of the postcard.
Right: Mixing a dark purple color w/ some red on a wax paper wrapped art board (great mixing surface! easy clean up!)

 
This is printed on the same paper as my business card- a thick and lofty 200-lb Bockingford cotton paper. Seems like a good weight for a postcard.

But as I found out it also sucks up TONS of ink, which created a problem at the end when I have to press REAL hard to get the solid coverage in the purple, but lost some of the details in the corgi face. Next time I'll definitely separate these big solid areas and more delicate designs on 2 screens. Lesson learned.

 
Ta-dah! In its full glory- front and back. BTW, King Corgi's silly little celtic crown is printed in gold- it doesn't show up real well in the photos here, taken in a low-light late afternoon.

I don't think I'll be getting the other cards back till about the last week of October. In the meantime, you can get a sneak peek of my swapmate's process here on Flickr. So exciting, hee :D

 

Where Did the Weekend Go?!

Can't believe it's Sunday evening already. I'm exhausted and Monday morning is just around the corner... Where did my weekend go?!

Hmm, let's retrace our footsteps...

(1) On the creative front- perfect example of "when it rains it pours"- printed a bunch more gocco and letterpress cards (some exciting stuff, photos to come); put up a few in my etsy shop; finished a special order of collage cards; sent samples to Pegasus Bookstore; took up another custom order (interesting request I got through etsy, again, more to come); signed up for another gocco swap (yep, can't help it). 

OK, I guess I knew where my time went. It's hard to notice though when you're running on caffeine and adrenaline.

Shout out to those who've ordered from my shop this past week! Thanks!!

(2) After almost 9 years of closure and remodeling,the California Academy of Science in the Golden Gate Park will finally celebrate its much-anticipated reopening as the country's "greenest" museums in 2 weeks- and hubby and I got a sneak peek today at a special pre-opening event :) More to follow.

 
Nothing better than mingling with T. Rex with a glass of pinot in hand.

(3) After months of various conflicts, finally made it to this month's SF Corgi Meet up! It started out foggy and overcast (surprise, surprise), but ended up nice and warm as the afternoon rolled by. I hate to say this but I think fall has arrived.

This time I had both Picasso and Bryson with me, thought that would help Bryson be less anti-social- but no. He's worse than ever. Tried to escape when no one's looking so many times I finally had to leash him to the picnic table :( But hey, that's prime treating/petting spot + it's Lleulu's birthday party so there's plenty of yummies there, so I guess he doesn't mind that much after all. (Happy birthday, Lleulu!)

The puppies (and some puppies-at-heart) played up a storm (and dug a few big holes). It was quite cute. And Toast's baby sister just let everyone hold her and took it all in. What a great baby :)

1. Wendy, 2. Treeeat..., 3. Starbuck, 4. Scratch it good, 5. Runaway Bryson, 6. Rolls, 7. Pet me, 8. Ooh, stick..., 9. Nub wag, 10. No, it's MINE!, 11. Love you too, 12. Love from Barclay, 13. Itchy, 14. It's nice to be taller, 15. It's MY hole!, 16. I'm tall, 17. I'm cute, 18. I die, 19. Hi Baby!, 20. Hey, watch it, 21. Hey, 22. Happy 9th Birthday, Lleulu!, 23. Group feeding, 24. Group, 25. Feed me

If that's not enough corgis for you, go to our Flickr album, there's more!

So, how exactly do you "gocco"?

Wow. You guys amaze me with all the comments you've left already! All these great ideas, I guess I asked and now I shall receive, ha! Keep them coming!

OK, so I know that the "intro to gocco" in my last post kept you hanging a bit, as you still have no idea how this darn gray box work its purported magic.

So, below is a very quicky and dirty pictoral guide from a project I did a while back. I tried to take photos at most steps, but invariably small crises came up at most importune times (burning finger with light bulb + spilling ink everywhere while phone ringing off the hook), and I get distracted. It's not meant to replace the guide that comes with your kit, obviously. It should give you a general idea though.

[For a fairly detailed video tutorial (quite entertaining too at times), check this out.]

Step 1 (below): Here's the PG11 machine in the open position. A new blue screen is slid into the top lid, and images you want to print- in this case, photocopies of 2 sketches I did, are placed on the bottom over a piece of scrap paper.

    

Step 2: (Above left) Insert 2 new light bulbs into lamp housing (the silvery surface is the inside of the lamp housing). Close up the PG11, insert lamp housing onto top of the machine.

Step 3: Now, here's the fun part, and unfortunately also one of those crucial steps I don't have a photo of- this is where you press down the top lid with the loaded lamp housing in it x 3-5 seconds, the light bulbs will "flash", much like the flash in a camera, crackle and burn off in a few seconds (and emit this fume that makes you think you've accidentally set something on fire). Check that there's no fire, remove the lamp housing, let the bulbs cool (can't emphasize more), then remove bulbs and discard properly (and don't let your dog lick them- they're toxic!)

Step 4: Lift the top lid, and when you slide the screen out, it will look like this below (the original image will be "stuck" to it, you know the screen has been "exposed" and the image transfered to it). Ta dah! Now with the screen made, you're ready to print.

 

Step 5: Apply ink. In this case, I've actually combined images for 2 separate projects on the same screen to be frugal (do you know how much Bryson eats?), so I have to use the grey ink blockade foam to "rope off" the area I want to print this time, so I won't inadvertently print off the other image. And yeah, you really do need that much ink for good coverage. But with this amount you can probably print up to 50-75 before having to reapply.

 

Step 6: Put screen back in top lid, this time already exposed and loaded with ink, put paper/card on the bottom lid, align, and close the top lid to print. Voila! You've printed yourself a stack of adorable red specs greeting cards. (the ink stay wet for a little bit, so be sure to let them dry first before stacking em'.)

 

 
The details it's able to produce are pretty amazing for this little machine, isn't it?

 
Bryson making a cameo in the "gear shot" I was trying to take yesterday ("stay away from those light bulbs!")

Sharing Gocco Love

Thanks everyone who has commented or contacted me about the notecards I gocco'd for the swap!

I've been pleasantly surprised by all the positive responses, and to thank you for your support, I'm going to give away a set of my gocco cards containing the 3 designs you saw previously!

 
Giveaway! Giveaway! This "Real Corgis Speak Welsh" card is among the 3 designs in the giveaway set. See below for details.

To be considered for this giveaway, please leave me a comment by 9/8 (Mon) on how you'd like to see this blog and/or my Paper Elixir business grow. Any feedback, ideas, tips, what you'd like to see more/less of...  it'll be my Suggestion Box! I'll randomly draw a name and post the winner here next Monday.

And I know I promised this a while back, I finally got a chance to collect photos of all the fun and beautiful and quirky cards I received from the Art of the Note gocco swap:

 

1. Finished business meeting, 2. Ahoy Matey!, 3. 8_22_08, 4. packed, 5. gocco note cards, 6. Gocco Cards, 7. 08_13_08, 8. spirograph flowers, 9. finshed notecards, 10. IMG_2378, 11. gocco'd notes giveaway!, 12. "Simple Life" bunny card (mine, of course :>)

Aren't they gorgeous? And this is just from the group I belong to (I think there are 5 groups total). To see the entire spectrum of gocco loveliness, check out this Flickr group here.

Ever since I posted about my Gocco creations, I also got a few questions about what this Gocco business is...

I guess I should take a step back and explain what this little gadget is.

The Print Gocco machine is a small, family-oriented table-top silk-screen printing unit that was introduced by the Japanese company, Riso, some 30+ years ago (my dad used to have one when I was a kid!). It was hugely popular in the 70's and 80's, but has gradually declined in appeal due to the advent of color inkjet printers. It has enjoyed a revival in the past few years among craft enthusiasts.

However, as Riso's business grew in other departments (it makes industrial size printers now), it sees Gocco as no longer a profitable business unit, and has just announced it will stop producing the machine and all the supplies (a similar "scare" happened a few years ago, prompting the Save Gocco campaign). Word on the street is that the machine has ceased production in June 08, and while a small amount of supplies will still be made, the only US distributor will apparently drop this product line by the end of the year.

While I certainly hope this is not true, you may be witnessing a dying art form here.

With that bit of history, let me now answer some of your questions and show you how the gocco works before it becomes a mere urban legend.

There are a few models out there, the more common ones being the smaller PG5, and the slightly larger PG11 (that also allows for easier registration for multiple screen printing).

I own the PG11 model. Below's a photo of my nifty little PG11 along with some supplies I have:

Starting from top left, going clockwise:

1. A tube of screen cleaner. Not the most fun part of printing, but someone need to clean up the mess, right? I got this cleaner from here, it costs much less than the "official" one, and works just as well. Will save lots of cursing (and your wallet) down the road. Highly recommended.

2. A registration screen (black plastic part + clear screen) that only comes with the PG11. Helps you align multiple images accurately. More later.

3. Ta-dah! The PG11 machine itself. It combines the 2 steps of silk screening in one: (1) it burns (transfers) the image onto the screen, and (2) it prints.

It basically acts like a clam-shell- it holds the exposed screen with ink on the top lid, and when you close it, it'll print onto the piece of paper you've placed on the bottom lid. 3b is the lamp housing that holds the light bulbs which burns the image onto the screen (comes with machine).

4. Ink galore! You obviously don't need this many colors to start with. I started with the basic primary colors + black and white. Those are your essentials. I stocked up when I heard about the impending shortage (although now that I've stocked up I'm sure they won't go out of supply for the next century).

Of note, some colors are discontinued, and certain retailers have jacked up their price, some retailers have not. Normally they cost around $3-3.50 each. Shop around before you buy.

5. (In the middle of the box) A palette knife. For a time when you need just that perfect shade of aqua.

6. Lamps (light bulbs). Everytime you need to burn an image on a screen, you need a pair of these (see those 2 yellow ovals sticking out from the end of the white cardboard holder?). They come in boxes of 10. As you can imagine, they go by pretty quickly. They can be pricey ($12-15/box), but they are essential. 

Note- it's rumored that the lamps contain lead (or mercury, depends on who you ask). So, wash hands after use and dispose of properly (as you would energy-saving light bulbs). I haven't grown a third eye yet so I guess they're OK.

7. Blocking material- a grey foam that you can cut into strips and stick on the screen to separate inks of different colors. See first 2 photos here for an example. Pretty cheap, get at least a couple.

8. The all-important screen. The blue surface is a very fine-mesh silk screen. When an image is "exposed" onto it, the lamp burns little holes on the screen where there is carbon (from the image). And when ink is then applied on the screen and pressed, it will go through these little holes and get transferred to the piece of paper you want to print on.

Comes in packs of 5, about same price as a box of bulbs. Again, pricey but essential (you could buy unmounted mesh and mount your own, but seems complicated and I'm too lazy to figure that out...)

9. A blue filter. Usually comes with kit. You'll need it when using photocopied images to burn the screen to cut down on the degree of burn.

Whew! That's about it :) 

If you're interested in creating some gocco love for yourself, this site offers a list of retailers that may still carry the machine/supplies. At last check (as of Aug 08), almost everybody's out of the machine, except this retailer. Supplies are still readily available at most retailers, thanks goodness.

As this post is running to marathon length (and my tendonitis is rearing its ugly head again), I'll post some more photos describing the process of "gocco'ing" tomorrow.

Don't forget to leave a comment to enter the giveaway! :D Stay tuned.

 

Bon voyage, my lovely little gocco cards!

OK, OK, I know you've all been holding your breath, eagerly awaiting the top 3 on the Kauai countdown. I'm sorry that you'll have to hold your breath just a tad bit longer (don't pass out!)

This is because I can no longer contain my excitment over the successful completion of the "art of the note" gocco swap! Woo hoo!

Remember my hesitation when I was first invited to join? You can imagine my relief when 2 days ago, after weeks of fretting, planning then printing, I finally packed my neat little stacks of gocco cards, kissed them all a fond farewell, and sent them on their merry little ways all around the world to spread this gocco love.

I ended up only sending out 2 of the designs I made. The 3rd one, my "Real Corgis Speak Welsh" card hit a small production hitch, but I've included all photos here, hoping you'll have some ideas for me.

This first design will probably look familiar to those of you who've seen my letterpress Paper Elixir business card. It's a play on the same design, which of course represents the intersection of my 2 lives as artist and pharmacist.

 

The left photo is the screen the card is printed off of. The grey foam is there to not only separate the colors to be applied, but also reduce ink wastage by limiting how far they can "spread" when pressed. And here they are, all bundled up and ready to hit the road.

The second design is the one I'm probably most excited about. I mentioned that I got an idea from my last business meeting that'll be some sort of a satire to the corporate world I'm in.

And the result is this "Simple Life" bunny card:

 

I hope you can read some of that background text, which is meant to represent all that crazy corporate mumbo-jumbo. Most of these are adapted from "real life" situations I've experienced- so yes, I've seriously been asked if I nominated myself for an award I recently received at work. There are things so seriously disturbing that you just have to laugh.

And just like the bunny (which is my Chinese horoscope), sometimes all you want amidst all these craziness is a darn carrot.

To achieve a lighter background color, I had to mix in some white to dilute this aqua color. Love how they look all shiny plasticy and stringy.

Last but not least, the corgi cards that I ran into some printing issues.

The model of the corgi is of course our dear Bryson, whom I'm sure wouldn't mind being depicted as the great Welsh Corgi King he thinks he is. On this card he's addressing the admiring humans he owns in his native Welsh language: "Helo, fy deliad!" translates to "Hello, my subjects!"

This is the first time I print with 2 screens that needs to be registered pretty accurately. That took some trial and error, but it turns out well.

The problem is the mustard color "frame" around the text that you see on some cards. The design was a bit too intricate for it to show up well- or perhaps I "overexposed" (burned) the screen. Either way it came out like one huge smudge. I think the card looks OK without it. And then I didn't have the time to print the back with the translation, so I guess that'll be another project, another day.

I also included a letter (typed, not handwritten, an oxymoron to the spirit of the swap, I know, I know), so I can tell a little bit of the story behind these cards (plus I get to use my letterpress stationery, hee hee...)

I'm just starting to receive the lovely creations from my swapmates, super psyched! I'll post more once I receive the majority of them.

Go Gocco!!

Real Corgi Speaks Welsh (R)

I'm back! Can't believe I haven't kept you all in touch since I came back from Chicago. As some of you predicted, it was warm (at least by San Francisco standard), humid, and the River smells. Sorry! I have sensitive olfactory cells.

I am happy to report I actually generated a few ideas for my gocco cards during the meeting (I really did try to pay attention but 4 p.m. rolls around and my ADD kicks in).

And if you're reading this blog, I think you'll be as excited as I am to hear that one of them has to do with... *drum rolls*..... Corgis!!

Yay! About time, right? It seems to make perfect sense to marry my 2 loves, and I have actually been toying with this idea for quite some time now. But as much as I absolutely adore all things corgi, I wasn't sure if I was "niching" myself. I mean, would people buy corgi cards?

And as if the heavens heard my doubts, an angel was sent my way while I was in Chicago (I have to say its GPS must work pretty well to track me down all the way across the country). It came in the form of another Arte y Pico blog award from the uber-talented artist and fellow corgi-lover, Cathy Santarsiero (aka Christmas Corgi)!

I can't say how flattered I am to be chosen by Cathy! Just take a look at the wonderful corgi arts she created on her blog (and the one here to the left is her work depicting a herd of "mad scientist" corgis, hilarious!). It's really as if she's heard what's going on in my mind and decided to encourage me to pursue and hybridize my loves of art and corgis. Thanks, Cathy!

As soon as I came home, I did a couple of sketches, and one night while watching a travel show about Wales, I came up with the idea that I need to start a card line about corgis who speak Welsh. (Pembroke Welsh Corgis... yeah... get it? Hee hee!)

And thus born my new line: "Real Corgi Speaks Welsh"! And Bryson would be its spokesperson. Talk about niching my product :P

I even googled a site on BBC that teaches Welsh online, so I can learn a few lines in Welsh which I can then pass onto my slightly linguistically-challenged spokesperson Mr. B. I've tried to teach him some standard greetings that'll be useful on our greeting cards, but here's what he's learned so far:

I am Bryson.           Bryson dw i.
I like steak!             Dw i'n hoffi stêc!
Yummy, thanks!      Blasus, diolch!

And I think that's pretty much all he would say. Anyone know of a good place to pick up some Welsh online? (We tried the Rosetta Stone sample but I really don't need to know how to say "a man is under an airplane" or stuff like that)

Anyway, I'm excited about this whole kooky idea :) Hmm, maybe I can partner with a corgi group and donate part of the proceed from these cards' sales to a corgi/general doggie rescue foundation and do some good in the mean time.

Beth dybi? ("What do you think?" in Welsh according to my online translator, of course)

Hello from Windy City

Like I mentioned in my last post, I'm here in Chicago for the week for a company meeting.

I got up at 4 in the morning to catch my flight here, because my east coast home office colleagues have no idea how far San Francisco is in relation to Chicago ("Yeah, let's start at 2 p.m. so that'll give you plenty of time to get here"). Yeah.

Now, finally back in my hotel room at midnight, my body tells me it's time to hit the sack, but my head is still wired. I'm in a total jet-lagged funk.

One of the things that's burning a hole in my head in the last couple days is what I'm going to do for the gocco swap I wrote about. I just got this e-mail yesterday, confirming that I am "officially" signed up for the swap, and now I have 11 names of REAL people that I have to send a set of my gocco'd cards to in 3 weeks. And I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to print. Did I really sign myself up for this?

And guess what, surprise, surprise, the person who persuaded me to sign up ended up being one of my swapmates! I guess this is a case of "be careful of what you wished for" (so sorry you're stuck with me!)

Unrelated to gocco'ing- this is a photo I took of some paper and silk fabric and stuff on my craft table this past weekend. They turned into a lovely little pile of cards in an afternoon (with hubby's compassionate help for the disabled). I was a happy crafter. Maybe if I stare at them long enough, I'll get some inspiration for my gocco cards. *sigh*

  

Field Trip: a Berkeley Print Shop

You probably know that I'm still taking my weekly letterpress class, even though I'm not horribly productive lately due to my grim prognosis from Blackberry-itis.

So, I was relieved that for last weekend's class, instead of having to call in sick again since I can barely hold a pen, that we're going on a "field trip" to one of our teacher's fellow printers in Berkeley.

But since I've missed so many classes, I have no idea where we're going, except that this is also where our film (for our photopolymer plates) come from.

And there I thought, Great, we're going to watch someone make film in a dark room for 3 hours... whoopie doo...

So, imagine what a pleasant surprise it was when I realized our destination is this lively printing studio with 30+ years of colorful Berkeley-an history; and right at the door greeting us were owners and printing world celebrities, David Goines (of Saint Hieronymus Press) and Richard Seibert (of Letterpress)!

Geez, do I feel stupid now thinking we're going to watch film dry...

And as soon as we stepped in, our excitement continued to bubble as we laid eyes on the studio lined with all sorts of working presses and printing paraphernalia, smelling fondly of paper and ink and grease, and packed to the gills with the most fantastic lithographs and printed work as far as the eye can see. 

 

David and Richard are the most gracious hosts, taking us gaggle of students all around the studio, explaining their artistic approach and their preferred printing process (David does mostly lithograph, whereas Richard does mainly letterpress), and answering our endless questions patiently. They've only resorted to an ever slightly menacing tone when asked how their apprentice program works (well, suffice to say I'll never be accepted here, ever).

 

We were fasincated by the work produced through the years here, many of which are immediately recognizable, including posters/art work for the internationally acclaimed "Mother of Californian Cuisine", Chez Panisse, the logotype of Acme Bread, Ravenswood Winery, and business cards and logos for countless businesses big and small that share the common theme of having their roots here in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

We had such a wonderful time that we didn't even realize we're at the end of our visit till we had our hands shaken and were kindly shown the way out. But not before we were each handed our own goodie bag, packed with parting gifts and wisdom from Richard and David!

What? You got a goodie bag?! You lucky bastard!! What's in it? Uh hmm. Can't tell you, or you'll die with jealousy! *evil chuckle*

I'll just say that what we've received today will enrich and inspire our printing endeavors for many years to come.

P.S. Oh, and yes, we did get to watch film being processed. And yes, it would have been painful if we had to watch that for 3 hours.

For more photos of this fantastic field trip, visit my Flickr album.

Gocco Swap

OK, I'm feeling like a total uninspired slacker now. I haven't done anything creative since this project. My craft table is gathering dust. My etsy store is sporting cobwebs.

My right brain is practically atrophy-ing as we speak. Bleh.

I partly blame that on this nagging tendonitis on my wrist. It started a month ago when one morning I was awaken by this intense pain in my wrist, followed by a realization that I couldn barely move my thumb at all. In other words, I've been inflicted with this common ailment known as Blackberry-itis.

There are days I have to resort to wearing geriatric-ish elastic waist pants coz zipping up my jeans just gets too darn hard. Yes, I'm pretty pathetic.

Well, you may ask "What the hell are you doing typing this when you could have saved your wrist, you dummy?!" The answer is compared to the amount of typing and powerpointing I do for work, this is really nothing. And writing the blog helps me decompress after long work days. So there really isn't a choice.

So imagine my mixed emotions when 2 of my blog friends invited me to join in on this Gocco love fest, aka the Art of the Note Gocco Swap?

(Remember, my cautious little gocco experiment on New Year's Day?)

I really like the idea of promoting the art of the handwritten note, practically a lost art these days.

How the swap works is that each participant will be paired up with 10-12 other Gocco-enthusiasts, and each member will Gocco a set of note cards, then send each other 4-8 of their own cards and in turn receive these goodies from their swap-mates.

I am torn if I should join.

First, there is the tendonitis. Then, there's this this fear that those who're unfortunate enough to be paired up with me will feel totally jipped!

I mean, just look at the quality of some of the work produced during the last round of the Mid-Winter Swap! These are beautiful work and clearly not produced by rookies like me. Remember this is what I've done (smudges and all):

OK, maybe it doesn't look that bad, it's just not as "clean" as I'd like them to be. Maybe I just need to read the darn manual one more time.

Or, maybe I just need to get over that eerily perfectionistic over-achiever altered ego coupled with an insane insecurity complex and just give it a try.

But heck, I can totally blame that on being Chinese and therefore bred with over-achievism in my blood. In our family, you're either an over-achiever (aka "barely OK" according to your mom and dad) or a complete loser. (Family: you can totally attest to this one)

Anyway, that's a totally different topic that I can go on about for hours. But for now, I'm gonna rest my wrist, in case there's some gocco'ing to do in the near future.

"Your Dog Terrifies Me"

I've just had one of the weirdest encounters with a neighbor about Bryson, I feel obliged to share.

This neighbor in question lives down the hall (a renter who moved in recently), who told us once to our face "your dog terrifies me".

We totally thought she was joking. I mean, FEROCIOUS Bryson? The Bryson's who's spooked by a falling piece of lettuce, and stays 1000 yards away from the barking chihuahua? Sure, he has his "ferocious" moments with food (just look at that scary, scary picture of him). We really thought she was joking.

So, we didn't think much of it until...

Today, being unusually hot, we left our door ajar, and Bryson slipped outside to sit in the hallway where it's cooler. We've always thought that's cool coz all our neighbors adore him and constantly want to pet and hug him...

Well, apparently, all except for one. And today, with the aid of the soaring temperatures, things got to a boiling point...

8 p.m. ("knock knock" on our front door)

Me: Coming! (thinking it was our other neighbor wanting to ask us for opinion on his remodeling job, a common and most welcomed occurence these days)

Terrified neighbor (clutching a shopping bag with white knuckles, shows up outside our door and appearing about to either cry or throw up or both): Excuse me, but I think it's WRONG that your dog is out here by itself when you're not here.

Me: Huh?! Come again? (OK, I didn't say come again even though I wanted to). But he wasn't doing anything! (pointing at Bryson, who's half asleep with one eye open, checking out to see what the commotion was about)

Terrified neighbor: I'm afraid your dog might jump me. You shouldn't leave your dog unsupervised, ever! (inching closer to her unit, still clutching bag with white knuckles)

Me: Er, but I just went in to get a glass of water (untrue, I was kicking my legs up watching "Who's Wedding is it Anyway?" on Tivo).

Terrified neighbor (desperately trying to get to her door while staying at least 15 feet from Bryson, who's lazily scratching his ear, which sends her flinching): No you're not, I've been standing out here for the last 5 minutes.

Me (trying very hard to stifle a giggle): What?.... why have you been standing...? Anyway, I'm sorry you're afraid..... Errr... (the nice part of me wanted to suggest she sees a shrink, while the evil part of me thought perhaps I should toss a treat her way, just to see what happens...)

Terrified neighbor (made a mad dash to her door, threw us one last furtive look and slammed the door shut)

OK, I guess she's not kidding when she said she was terrified of Bryson. And I get it, phobias are hard to overcome, and they're sometimes irrational and out of the person's control (I'm really trying to be kind here).

But all that aggressive energy thrown at us (on a particularly hot day, mind you) for nothing in particular that we have done is just a bit much.

So, when I see her next, should I (a) suggest group counseling with Bryson on her lap? (b) hide a treat in the hem of her pants?

"I didn't do it. I swear. Just look into my eyes."

FLOR & Alexander Girard

Buried deep in the massive pile of junk mail we got when we returned from Seattle was this little treasure that I almost tossed out- a catalog from FLOR.

I know, you're thinking, Gimme a break, just another FLOR catalog, geez... You've seen these ubiquitous removable carpet tiles a thousand times on just about every home improvement show, so What's the big deal, eh??

Well, this FLOR catalog immediately grabbed my eye, coz this time there's something new and noteworthy (not that the concept of removable carpet tile is old and stale, but their own designs are just a tad... well, for a lack of better word, suburban at times). 

But this time, they totally hit the mark- they've partnered with the iconic Alexander Girard, the legendary American textile designer that popularize that graphic/folk-art style that we've come to associate with the 50's and 60's.

And the result is just splendid. Just look at these fun and quirky La Fonda del Sol tiles, how can you not be happy staring at a floor like this? Even I who am not a huge mid-century mod fan have to give my nod of approval.

They're a bit pricey at $159.99 for 6 rugs (each is 19" x 19"), but with the intense color you probably want to use it as an area rug rather than covering an entire room anyway, and you can mix and match it with other solid colors for a more variegated look while staying cost efficient. I'm already thinking where these would go in our home... hmm....

And you know what's even better than these tiles? I found out that they sell mini versions (6" x 6") of these tiles as sample swatches, for a reasonable price of $6 for 6!

I immediately plunked down this whopping chunk of cyber cash and purchased myself a set of these lovely sun-faces. I hope to hang them as mini wall art to spruce up my home office that is screaming out for more life and vibrancy.

The online UPS tracker tells me my package is inching its way on Ground service all the way across the country from Georgia, and I should be expecting them in a week (I just checked and they're in Hodgkins, IL as of 5:50 a.m. today, woo hoo!).

I just hope they will be what I expect (a mini-sun vs a-quarter-of-a-sun...) and worth the wait. Will post them once I receive them in the mail. Keep you fingers crossed for me!

A Cherry Blossom Wedding in Seattle

Hello from Seattle!

Yep, we're in the Land of Perpetual Drizzle, my old stomping ground while attending college. We got here yesterday jetting through that familiar, grayish sky.

I don't know why, but the weather is invariably warm and sunny here whenever my Californian friends come up to visit, which of course never happens when a one-time native like myself is here. This has caused my friends to accuse me of  "always exaggerating about the foul weather here". Someone who lives in Seattle (uh hmm): please help me explain this conundrum!

Anyway, we're here to attend an old college friend's wedding in Bothell later on today (Sat), and since I've mentioned the Thank You cards I was letterpressing for this friend previously, thought I'd post some pictures of the finished product here.

By the way, these pristine cards travelled with me under my watchful eye all the way from San Francisco to Seattle (it just doesn't seem to make sense to mail them since I'll be flying up here, plus this way I can watch them like a hawk).

But of course, the perfect plan is never perfect. When we got to the security checkpoint at SFO, the X-ray lady had to practically pry them from my protective arms- and really, can you blame me, for the second she got it from me, she somehow felt the need to shake the darn box!

It wasn't until my husband stepped up to her, leaned slightly forward with that apologetic look, and whispered to her, "it's WEDDING stationary", with a sideway glance at his neurotic wife as if to say "if you don't give it back, she will explode into a tirade that will make us regret ever having this encounter", that the security person gave the slightest nod of understanding, and let my box go.

So, without further ado, here they are:

(1) Fresh off the letterpress. These are printed on the beautiful Italian pearlescent paper, Stardream, in opal. The raspberry color is chosen to compliment the red/gold theme in her invite, and to match the color of her gorgeous ao dai (Vietnamese gown) in the photo (see last photo).

 

(2) Putting all the elements together (note: the separate "thank you"s are also letterpressed, these on a matte paper, then torn into little pieces, then affixed to the letterpressed body with a gold acrylic medium).

(3) Ta da! All done! Oh by the way, the cherry blossom is my sketch, and the photo is adapted from an original by Mind Castle Studios. All copyrighted stuff, of course. Feel free to contact me if you'd like your own cherry-blossom themed wedding stationary!

OK, gotta go get ready now so we can actually attend this wedding. By the way, the sky's still gray. Oh well, ciao!

Paper Elixir = Luxury Goods

Does "4" in the editorial spread below look familiar to you?

Yep! It's my black feather card! I was so psyched to see the card being featured on the uber-chic tha Hotness blog (for the second time), this time as a "perfect thank you gift for your bridesmaid and maid of honor". (Thanks, My!)

I like the Louis Vuitton Change Holder strategically positioned above my card. They do look like they go together, don't they?

In fact, I think I'm going to send this to LV's headquarter, and propose that they consider giving one of these cards out as a complimentary gift to every customer who purchased this change holder. Of course I'll give Louis a bulk discount for purchasing a bizillion of my cards. I hate to gloat but somtimes I'm such a marketing genius.

Birth Announcements- They're Here!

I've finally recovered from the shock of losing a little piece of myself from last week, and was able to enjoy quite a lovely Mother's Day with hubby and Bryson.

By the way, I'm still patiently awaiting my Mother's Day gift from Bryson (size 39... uh hmm).

And I bet it's an extra special Mother's Day for one mom- my cousin, Irene, in Boston- not only because she gave birth to my beautiful niece, Mia, last month, but probably also coz she finally received the slightly overdue but still fabulous baby announcements I letterpressed for her! Woo hoo!

 
   

Overall, I like the way they came out. They're kinda like the invites I did for my sister's baby shower last year before taking this letterpress class.

I think these are sweet and playful without being too frou-frou. Well, fact is girls in our family just don't do frou-frou, we can't even if we try. But it does kinda coordinate with the thank you cards I gocco'd for her. OK, maybe it's just a little frou-frou.

In case you're curious, these are the steps involved in producing these announcements-

1. Sketch out the design on paper, do a mock-up (inspired by the pink chiyogami "ball" paper and lemongrass Midori ribbons to match, both from Flax, a art/craft megastore that has sucked my wallet dry over the years)
2. Scan in the chiyogami paper, extract and process the "balls" on PhotoShop, gouge eyeballs out repeatedly when I couldn't get PS to do what I want it to do
3. Lay the text and balls out on InDesign, which involves moving each ball by a few microns obsessively over and over again to get the right composition until eyeballs finally fell out
4. Send the completed InDesign file out to a vendor to produce the film (same as a photo negative)
5. When film comes back, make photopolymer plate from which the announcement will be printed off of (this process requires a lot of zen to get right. Say my Omm...)
6. Cut the paper (and some finger nail) on the guillotine, mix ink
7. Set up the Vandercook press, print (finally!), pray that the press doesn't fall apart half way
8. Admire the "naked" letterpressed announcements, cry a few tears of joy
9. Cut the chiyogami paper and ribbons
10. Select photo, process, print (but not before printing a thousand trial prints with wrong shade/ wrong size/ wrong resolution, etc)
11. Pour myself a generous glass of choya plum wine
12. Assemble the chiyogami strips, tie ribbons, affix photo, repeat 80 times or till fingers start bleeding, whichever occurs first (or, chug down the glass of plum wine and scream like a crazy woman so your husband is forced to help out)

And voila! You've got a set of lovely Japanese-themed letterpress birth announcement! Piece of cake.

Let me know if you're having a baby (or wedding, or any other momentous occasions) coming up, love to tackle it all over again! (And don't forget to send some plum wine along with your order)

What to Give for Mother's Day?

Since my parents moved back to Hong Kong a couple years ago, it's been quite a challenge shopping for birthday/ Christmas/ Mother's/ Father's Day presents for them.

First of all, taking them out to shop is kinda difficult when they live some 6,000 miles away. And there's the whole mailability factor (try packing a birthday cake).

And even if you do find something you like, chances are it's made in China, which means they can probably find the same thing 10 times cheaper somewhere down the street from where they live.

So, after dragging myself around 4th Street in Berkeley for hours this weekend and got a couple of knick-knacks (all sporting "Made in China" stickers on the back), I gave up.

I ran home, rubbed my sore feet, made myself a cup of tea, and decided that I'm just gonna throw something together, call it a piece of "heartfelt" "artwork", and hope my mom won't despise it (she's a hard critic, that one).

And going through my boxes of spare fabric and bits of paper and various ephemera for ideas, I came across this lovely pack of cherry blossom stickers my mom got for me while visiting Japan years ago that I had forgotten about...

They're these cutesy little things that I imagine Japanese school kids stick on their bento lunch boxes. And since working on my friend's wedding thank you card this past month, I've been having cherry blossoms on my mind... 

And about an hour (and many stains that ruined another pair of pants) later, this is what I got:

And yes, it was so much fun I actually made 2! I'm gonna mail my mom the smaller one on wood (in the upper right photo), and I might put the canvas one up in my etsy store. But I kinda like it, hmm... maybe I'll keep this one.

(P.S. Daddy- if you're reading this before you receive it in the mail, please don't show this to her- it's meant to be a SURPRISE...)

Chez Senakams

My day started out nice and relaxing- the sun was shining, birds were chirping, coffee was brewing... it really looked to be a promising day.

But of course, life is never as it seems... before I can even finish my cup of coffee, the day start to slowly slip out of control like a runaway truck. Pretty much everything that could have gone wrong did, and here are just a few that went spectacularly so:

1. My work laptop crashed midway through a lengthy report (that I moronically have not yet saved). Called IT, waited an hour, couldn't get any help (what was I thinking calling them anyway?). Three hours later, I restarted the project. Laptop crashed again. Banged head till it bled.

2. Received package in mail- only that it was a "Return to Sender" for an Etsy order I just sent out yesterday (and it was only the SECOND order from my little store)! Apparently I used the wrong envelope that indicates it's priority when I was told to pay 1st class postage. Even though for this particular destination, priority and 1-st class will get on the same plane and arrive on the same day. I love USPS.

3. Tried gocco'ing a Thank You card for my cousin whom I'm letterpressing baby announcement for. In my already flustered state, I messed it up big time.

Don't be fooled by this photo where things look OK being small- click on it to get a supersized image, and you'll see the piece on the machine is smudged. I didn't even see it till I printed took this picture and realized about 20 of them were printed like that. ARRGGHHH...

4. Sharks lost. Trailing 0-3 in this 7-game playoff series. Time to shave off my playoff beard.

Seeing this damsel in distress, my very kind hubby not only cooked me dinner, but also presented me this menu below that he specially prepared to help me understand this intricate gourmet meal:

I particularly enjoyed the pungent 99 Ranch garlic, hormone-free chicken, and quality Rainbo large enriched white bread.

I'm awarding the culinary rising-star Chez Senakams a Michelin Star, as well as a Zagat rating of 28 for Food, 30 for Value, and a 25 for decor (the 25 for decor is my fault, as I have messed up prints strewn everywhere).

And this is the pretty Paper Elixir Thank You card I'll send to Chef Jacques for taking such good care of me. Merci, Chef Jacques!

Rough Sketch of Next Project- Cherry Blossom

I've been busy finalizing my cousin's baby announcement (Baby Mia was born yesterday! Happy 0th birthday, Mia!), when a good friend from pharmacy school in Seattle saw my design on the blog, and commissioned me to do her wedding's thank you card!

I still get this warm and fuzzy feeling when someone want me to put my creative touch on these momentous occasions in their lives. It truly is an honor.

So, with such a responsibility in mind, I set out to design something that'll be modern, romantic, and in line with her invite's cherry blossom/red/gold theme (the enclosure on the right is her invite, designed by someone else).

And when I saw her jaw-droppingly AMAZING engagement photos (by the talented Danielle at MindCastle Studios), I knew I HAVE to incorporate them for that personalized touch. (The way the light hit them and the cherry blossoms in the original photo is sooooo darn romantic... *swoon*)

And the square card in the photo (left) is my first crack at the design. And as you can see, it's a very rough sketch done with scraps of paper (pardon the smudge marks, I apparently have yet to learn not to touch things before they're fully dry...).

I sketched the cherry blossom here, but the final product will be letterpressed onto the same gorgeous pearlescent Stardream cardstock.

The little "Thank You" note will be set in the same gold acrylic medium I've used recently in a different card to add that extra dimension of richness and texture (everyone can use a little extra bling).

My friend has given me the preliminary thumbs-up (whew!), but we might look at other photos before we finalize the design.

Doing this project makes me want to get married all over again! (to the same guy, of course :P)

I'm featured!

Look! I found out this morning a fellow Etsian, springcartdesign, featured my work on her uber-chic blog, Tha Hotness!

This is what she said...

"I must admit that I am a lover of beautiful things. This morning I was wowed and have to share with you all the beauty that is Paper Elixir.  Paper Elixir is the brainchild of Ivy, a self-confessed, "paperholic".  Ivy's shop is full of beautiful mixed media goodies. Here are just a few teasers, so make sure that check out the rest here. Enjoy..."

Wow, that's nice, thanks!

She's also got some really cool stuff on her blog. I'll have to pour myself a cup of coffee (with bailey's), sit down and browse through it for some virtual window shopping (and admire photos of my stuff among all the greatness, ha!)

Oh, and Bryson just complained to me he's been feeling horribly neglected on this blog since I started my shop.

He's made me put up some of his latest photos here, otherwise he said he's gonna go on a hunger strike (...)

This is us visiting the Caesar Chavez (Berkeley Marina) park yesterday. Now that the weather's warmer and the day longer, I've resumed bringing my camera on our outings (you can only take so many pictures of your cards at home!)

He found this 3-feet pile of mulch, jumped onto the very top, and proceeded to sing "The hills are alive, with the sound of BRYYYY..sonnn..."

Stocking up My Etsy Store

After I sold my (whopping) ONE piece of collage, my Etsy store looked empty and sad (it's a 25% decrease when you go from 4 pieces to 3, ya know?)

So, fueled by the energy from my first sale, I whipped up a few new pieces these past few days so I can restock my empty shelves.

These first couple ones are a continuation of the "Falling Hydrangea" theme. There's a midget version (6" x 8") version of the larger pink/expresso color one that sold (6" x 12"), and a variation in a soothing turquoise/green tea color (in both sizes).

I just LOVE that knubby turquoise silk fabric! It really contrast those smooth, smooth hand-dyed silk ribbons (in green tea and that stormy blue) on the piece. Can't stop touching and feeling them... Hmm...

In this piece below (Angel), I was inspired by a fellow Etsian Heather's new Act of Kindness initiative. You have to read about her act of kindness, Project Lemon. It's one of the most original and creative and whackiest act of kindness I've seen!

Honestly, I can't come up with anything remotely as clever or creative as this act. So I did what I know :) I created a piece that helps you celebrate the angel in your life.

 

 

The piece is painted in acrylic in gradation, from the muddy black in the bottom (that deep, dark place you're stuck in) to the glorious fluffy white at the top (where your angel lift you up to).

The specks of gold throughout represents the light your angel shed on you to remind you of the goodness in this world.

Like a good bowl of piping hot ramen on a freezing day.