handmade gifts for the sis

Just a quick post for, as promised, the wedding pillowcases (his & hers) that I made for my sister and her hubby (and another thing I made).



a close up of the diamond


and for Christmas I gave her the new Harry Potter dvd, so I made this little fellow to accompany it...



It's supposed to be Hedwig, Harry's owl! Cute, right? It's the first crochet project I've ever completed. The pattern is from the Sept/Oct issue of Crochet Today (for which I am also the Editorial Assistant)

i bought myself a christmas prezzie...

I'm taking a self-imposed five day break from the world of interweb, but I thought I'd leave you with a site that I am in love with.

I met Jessica from the Shiny Squirrel at Artists & Fleas last Saturday - if you don't already know about the Shiny Squirrel, you must go check it out now. Not only does it serve as a platform for artists and designers, you can also find limited edition prints and softies and clothing from some of my favorite designers around.

I ended up buying something from oh my cavalier... (you know how I love her...)


to see more of my favorite things from The Shiny Squirrel, check out the blog I posted over at Adorn.

Happy Holidays! <3 kristen

gross but true

today I'm channeling Martha to bring you a handy around-the-house tip.



did you know... instead of buying a bottle of goo-gone, get your gunk off using butter. There was a sticker stuck to the glass of this frame, but I rubbed some butter on it and scraped the whole gunk (butter + sticker junks) off with a razor blade. super easy. no more citrus/who knows what else chemicals! but still... rubbing butter around is pretty gross. unless you're into that...

a matter of perspective....

... or a right/left brain thing?



imagine you're making the bed. Imagine you're one of those people that's really particular about making the bed. Which way do your pillows face? Do the openings of the pillow face out or in?

I'm working on a wedding gift for my sister (Jenne, if you're reading this, stop NOW!). The gift is almost three months late but hey, I have had a lot goin' on.

So, I am appliquéing rings onto a pair of white pillow cases, a his-n-hers pillowcase set, if you will. Hers is obviously a diamond. (note: pictures of this project are to come in the next post)

I called my sister last night to ask her what side of the bed she slept on. I wanted the pillowcases to face inward (the openings) and the rings would match in the lower corner, symbolizing togetherness and all the lovey-dovey stuff.

My sister, not feeling well and having taken something to help her sleep, groggily told me she slept on the right side of the bed. I called my mom ("mom! Can you believe jenne is asleep at 10.30??!!") and she confirmed Jenne slept on the right side of the bed. So I appliquéd the diamond ring in the lower left hand (if the pillows are facing inward) and the band in the lower right hand of the two pillows.

This morning I received a text message from Jenne that said "did you really call me last night and ask me what side of the bed I sleep on? I forget to ask you from which perspective!"

I assumed she knew I meant looking at the bed, and told her so. She responded that if you were looking at the bed, she slept on the left. In the bed, she slept on the right. Her being in bed explains why she told me this, but why my mother?

Is this a right/left brain thing? Or just me looking at the situation visually? Probably the latter. Either way, now I have two backwards pillows!

But alas – back to my former question – several people have now confirmed that pillowcases should face out. This will work for my pillow, except the rings will be on opposite, diagnal corners. Oh well – either that, or my brother in law can sleep on the "hers"!

post-bust update

The Bust Craftacular was awesome! I had a blast. The only thing I could have wished for would have been more time to walk around and look at other people's wares.

The goal I had set for myself was to sell out of my wares, and I came pretty close. I sold out of everything but three items (they were all the same item, a Christmas tea cup). Hooray!


the booth that I shared with my friend Nikki





a funny thing - I was selling Christmas Tea Cup candles (I had two designs, this one is peeking out in the bottom picture inside the crate) and five different people came up and told me their mom had the exact same set - that she'd been collecting it for years and years and had every single piece. Most of the people who bought that set bought it for their mothers - so cute! I was glad that it was special...

Oh, and I did get my molar necklace from Brookadelphia. It's everything I imagined.

I'll be listing a few items in my etsy shop once I finished my wholesale order for Sprout. Hopefully, I will have worked out my birch tree candles then. I'll also be working on some hollowed books (which were a big hit!) over my Christmas break.

<3 k

prepare for takeoff...

Alright, my nervousness about this weekend has subsided and I am just plain excited! Plus, it's going to snow/rain some sort of awful wintry mix and I'll be inside! I really need some proper snowy footwear.
I looked at the vendor's booth map and we are right down the way from Brookadelphia, which, if you'll remember, sells a certain molar necklace I'd like to purchase. I also think I'm going to snatch up their post-modern necklace, which reminds me of one of my favorite movie quotes ever. (Tony Wilson in 24 Hour Party People acknowledges that he's flirting and then says "I'm being post-modern." I found this hilarious and use it whenever is appropriate, which is very pretty much never, so sometimes I just say it for the hell of it.)



(sorry for the dark pictures, flash is evil in a room with no windows!)
(not all tea cups present)


yes, my army of owls and the smaller legion of tea cups are bundled up like a two year old on his first snow day. As you can see in the background, I have decorated our apartment with some lovely christmas lights from ikea. They are purple diamonds! Fancy... Honestly, I just love christmas lights. Pretty.

So maybe I will see you tomorrow?

Bust Craftacular, Saturday Dec 8, 10 am - 8 pm
Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W 18th St