¡slɐuıɟ ɥɥɥɐɐɐ

I've got the first and the worst of my finals tomorrow. It's a double whammy of ochem and nuclear chemistry. Next week I have a whirlwind weekend in Northern Minnesota, home for a week then off for 11 days in Honolulu for a late honeymoon.

I've got a show scheduled for July 18th with my local street team. Trying to decide what I want to make and take, it's always hard to predict what people will be looking for on any given day. Which is what I love about Etsy, people get on there looking for a blue notebook- and if you can fill that need then they will purchase it. Craft shows don't have that same thing, people show up and browse not knowing what to expect,but probably not looking for that blue notebook.

I've been having a huge crafty urge but it might be a natural response to spending the last week looking at flying spaghetti monsters, counting lines, and working on the design of a nuclear reactor. Hopefully I'll retain that urge over the weekend and get some serious crafting done!

Crafty Overload

This week has been good for nourishing my crafty side. It was the last week of classes here and while I'm totally stressed out for my finals next week I've managed to get a lot done that isn't related to school.

Ok so the first project is kind of related to school- The fabric pieces are a tote bag, and a tote bag in progress! I finally ahead of the game in silk screening for once and I got to play around with fabric for the first time. The bag with the cassettes is finished while the bag with the reels still needs to be sewn together. I screened the fabric during our last class on Thursday and everyone was really envious, I think mostly because I was done and could play around, might also be because I bought shiny purple ink to play with.

As you can see in the second picture I have lots and lots of ink to start playing with. I also bought myself a photo emulsion kit, but that will have to wait until I get a scooper and a bigger squeegee.

In other exciting news this week our local crafty materials exchange MECCA sent out a news letter this week saying they had gotten in some upholstery leather scraps so I ran in as soon as they opened the next day and took a large pile to start playing with leather again.
The topic came up of why I want large scraps of leather and I told Mija I was a book binder. She got really excited and we started talking about me teaching classes there over the summer! I think I'll be teaching in late July/early August, I'll keep you posted as I come up with more of the details! I'm really excited to have the opportunity I just need to come up with what classes I want to teach and how I want to structure them....

Online Trunk Show- With Me & BEST!

The Bookbinding Team will be hosting an online trunk show at the Etsy Virtual Labs on June 2nd at 9PM EST.

We will be showcasing some handpicked creations through images and even via webcam so you can get a more up close and personal look at our books on Etsy. The creators will also be presenting why their shop (and themselves!) are unique, and you will have the opportunity to meet with them and ask questions in a session after the showcasing. There will also be some sales and giveaways, so this is definitely an event you don't want to miss!

A list of participating members:

yellowcraftychick
usefulbooks
thecraftykitten
kupokiley
myhandboundbooks
ladyartisan
flurrsprite
kristincrane
yatsu
thisisbexx

Brief Hello!

Well the good news is that I survived the nuclear chemistry midterm! The bad news is that due to my faulty, totally warped screen I am totally behind in silk screening!
This lovely little book to your left just got some new pictures and a renewal. I'm hoping these pictures help a little bit- this fabric is a real bear to photograph. It ends up looking awful & grainy when really it's lush fabric that I love.

This second lovely book is my swap book, it's going to Canada and hopefully the new owner doesn't pop over here before she gets it!
I would hate to ruin the surprise but I'm not sure I'll get too many updates in before school is over and I wanted to share it. June 12th here I come!
Anywho back to the book! It's my second attempt at a ribbon hinged book. I really like how elegant they look but I'm having problems with the spines on the block slanting. I let this one dry for two days before I put it in the case and it still slanted. I love it none the less. I used the bike path map for Eugene to make both the inside and outside covers. On the inside pages I glued pictures and facts about Eugene and Lane county. It's probably the closest I've come to making an artist book, and I'm pretty proud of it.

Holding Pattern

I kept promising myself I was going to get to a big blog post about the Street Faire, new books, and life in general and it's just not going to happen until this weekend- sorry!

These last two weeks have been crazier than I know how to describe so please hold and I promise I'll be back soon! I've also managed to misplace my card reader for my camera so when I come back I'll be back with a large number of pictures!

I did managed to get in a clean up my shop a little bit and a few books have been put on sale! Stop by and take a peek!

The things I do.....

Last Friday I was working on finishing a local custom order before heading out to work and I was trying to remember why it was that I needed to drive into work.... I tried for a good 10 min while I wrapped the book up and packed my lunch. It was a lovely day and I really wanted to ride to work and couldn't remember why I needed to drive so I hopped on to my bike and enjoyed the ride!

I got to work and found the note "DON'T FORGET BANANA FIBER TREE". I had volunteered to bring a tree from work for people to hang purses off on in our street faire booth and we needed it for the dress rehearsal this weekend. I went outside and stuck a tree across the bike lane and it just fit inside. Score! The tree went on the rack, bungies went on, and I went riding down the road banana fiber tree in tow. I also learned that bike lanes are about 4.5 feet wide.

I got some pretty funny looks and I hope that I made a few people smile as I zoomed past them stuck in Friday afternoon traffic. I think I'll take it back to work the same way :D

ps- Like my ride? I love her! The red velvet detailing is my favorite part

ASUO Street Faire 2008

I'll be attending the ASUO street faire next week, and I'm getting nervous. It's spring time here and while it is amazing beautiful time of year it's also the time of the year where the rain comes down sideways and in drops the size of quarters- it's also hailed several times in the last week.
It's a three day outdoor show so I've been trying to come up with a way to display my books where people can still access them. I'll work something out....

Anyways if you live in the area you'll find me at the booth from 1-6pm on Wednesday, 8-10:30 am Thursday, and 4:30-6 on Friday. Even if you can't make it to say hello to me stop by and say hello to the rest of my local street team. The booth is on the University of Oregon Campus on 13th, our booth is right in front of the Journalism building.