Decemberists II
Posted by cassandra , 1.26.2009 Monday, January 26, 2009
Decemberists
Posted by cassandra Monday, January 26, 2009
The lyrics are from a song called The Engine Driver by the Decemberists.
It's a lovely song.
Here's where I got my powerlines idea (I was going to stencil but it's too complicated).
Remember: you can always click on a pic to make it bigger!
Altoid Tin
Posted by cassandra , 1.24.2009 Saturday, January 24, 2009
I shipped out my tin earlier this week.
I am going to start on my Decemberists projects this weekend. I'm thinking a Decemberists hoodie (grey) with a huge stencil on the back and mermaid zipper pull (I'll be hitting the bead store today).
The goal is one medium and two smalls. I think the hoodie will be a "large" and I have no clue for my smalls. Maybe a set of a few glasses, etched.
My other swap is a cookie swap. I'm making just chocolate chip, I think, for one of the dozens and I'm not sure on the other. We have to craft a small item and my partner is into zines too, so I might construct another small zine.
Vday
Posted by cassandra , 1.19.2009 Monday, January 19, 2009
I think I might make Greg some stuff for Vday. Another tshirt, a bookmark.
We're staying low, supposedly nothing more expensive than a dvd or cd. SO the more I can handmake, the better! I've been perusing etsy for vday popup cards and there are so many great ones. My favorite is
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_15&listing_id=19891639
I also really like this one.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_17&listing_id=19671625
I think this one is really novel and adorable. I love minis in almost any situation.
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_16&listing_id=19432257
I think I might find him a cute little pouch for his phone to be kept in. He wouldn't use a charm but he might use a lovey/cute japanese print phone zipper/drawstring pouch.
MY ZINE!!!! PDF AND WORD DOCS FREE!
Posted by cassandra , 1.18.2009 Sunday, January 18, 2009
Free PDF of my first zine!!
MegaUpload Link
It's legit. I have used it for uploading albums to share with friends.
Free Word (2003) of my first zine!!
MegaUpload Link for Word Doc
Of course, this is an original work so don't copy anything without permission. Believe it or not, I spent a lot of time on this.
You are welcome to offer critique, laudings (ha!) or general thoughts on the pieces. I appreciate all comments. I tried to keep it pretty light but some things terrify/horrify me and I get kind of pissy.
Penguins!
Posted by cassandra , 1.12.2009 Monday, January 12, 2009
I received another bookmark in the mail today. This one is from New Hampshire and it's a penguin with a little quote that says, "It's practically impossible to look at a penguin and feel angry"
Here are the three I've received. My penguin, my sweets and my giraffe/birds. Yay! I love them all!
Altoid Tin Swap
Posted by cassandra Monday, January 12, 2009
The inside bottom. There are fairies, vintagey paper, a LOVE magnet...there's some ribbon. . .
The outside. The purple paper says, "Believe in fairies" and there is a mystical, Pan's Labyrinth tree. I might add more beads to the edges to cover the red altoid tin still showing. I might add a few small clouds.
The inside. I'm happy with how texturized it came out. The top looks really good, IMO. I love my little b e l i e v e glitter banner. I used a lot of pink because it's a valentine's day swap.
Another view of the inside.
Another view of the outside.
My Altoid Tin To Send Out, Bookmarks Received
Posted by cassandra , 1.10.2009 Saturday, January 10, 2009
I had some time this afternoon and worked on my Altoid tin a little. I'm pretty satisfied with how it's coming along so far. I'm working off the premise that my partner loves fairies. It's going to be whimsical and somehow love-y too. Lots of pink as you can tell!!
Also! I received two bookmarks so far! One has a giraffe and birds (love both of those) and the other has all sweets with a pastel plaid background. The one on the bottom is a Blackberry inspired Dilbert comic from quite awhile ago that I made with packing tape and lots of love!
First Bookmark Rec'd
Posted by cassandra , 1.07.2009 Wednesday, January 07, 2009
My first bookmark is a sugary girly themed one! It's really cute!
Altoid Tin
Posted by cassandra , 1.06.2009 Tuesday, January 06, 2009
I got my partner tonight. So here goes the brainstorming.
She likes magnets, the Smurfs, charms. She doesn't have a wist, so I'm doing the Craftster stalking. Bowling, fairies, scrapbooking (meh), animals. Hmm. Sounds pretty vague...
I will start decorating my tin, possibly tonight, probably tomorrow. Work zonked me today. I'm going to work out in a bit.
My bookmarks are sent out.
My zine is about half done.
And, because I am a true addict: I signed up for another swap. That makes four at once, a new record. The new swap is due Feb 3rd--it's a Vday cookie swap. You make two dozen, craft a small item and purchase a small item and ship it off. The good thing about the cookies is you get a dozen and your SO gets a dozen.
Altoid Tin Ideas.
Posted by cassandra , 1.04.2009 Sunday, January 04, 2009
Just brainstorming items I could put into my valentine's day tin:
-bookmark*
-koolaid/crystal lite/etc
-cell phone charm*
-stitch markers
-candy, lip balm
-single sticky letters L O V E from michael's *
-small mirror
-magpo, marble magnets *
-buttons
-zipper *
-flowers
-die cuts *
-small embossed papers (gift tags, atc backgrounds) *
* = stuff i have/could make, in my stash already
As for the outside of the tin:
painting
paper/mod-podge
beading
Bookmarks Completed--with Pictures!!
Posted by cassandra , 1.03.2009 Saturday, January 03, 2009
(click to make them bigger--much much bigger!)
Bookmarks are done! Yay! This was a great swap to sign up for and I'm so glad I did. From left to right: vintage/dog/music/polka dots, natural/fantasy, zombies and Jane Austen/romantic.
Zombies (again) and my Jane Austen bookmark. It's vintage pink paper with swirly flourishes and then was embossed (using the Cuttlebug) with more swirls. I wrote the quotation out and added some beads to the string (it's upholstery thread). The beads are a nice touch, I think.
The back of the Jane Austen bookmark has my first die-cut cutouts (paisley, naturally) in pink and purple. It's all so romantic and periodic! I'm not an Austen fan but I think the marker came out pretty swell. This one was heavily mod-podged before it was laminated. It looks a bit shiny, I suppose. I like it.
One of the group members likes "dogs, music, polka dots, vintage patterns and things that are funny." I couldn't think of anything funny to write (people's senses of humor are quite different) so I just drew a goofy looking dog. The vintage paper is paisley. Both sides of this marker are the same, more or less (I did freehand the dog). All the bookmarks are laminated with heatless laminate--though I should've just used clear contac-paper or shelf liner. Next time...
Pictures of Bookmarks!
Posted by cassandra Saturday, January 03, 2009
Finished my Zombies Bookmark!
It says, "Reading makes your brains taste yummier!" with a picture of a brain. It looks nearly identical on the back. Turned out very cute, IMO. The recipient for this is Samantha, as you can see by my gift tag.
book mark making
Posted by cassandra , 1.02.2009 Friday, January 02, 2009
I made a few bookmarks tonight. I am nearly done with this swap and I just got my partners. The themes I chose to work with are:
-zombies
-jane austen
-music/polka dots/dogs
-fantasy/nature
Zombies is all the way done. I bought some heatless laminate @ michael's and I'm laminating the marks when they're complete. I think zombies turned out great!
3 swaps at once!
Posted by cassandra Friday, January 02, 2009
I just can't stop myself!
I signed up for (yet) another swap.
So now I'm in the Zine Swap (send out Jan 14th), the Bookmark Swap (send out Jan 5th) and the Altoid Tin-Valentine's Day Swap. They're all pretty small.
1. Bookmark Swap is 4 bookmarks (I'm using paper, I don't care what my partners ask for). I haven't started because I want to see what my partners like for patterns and 'feels', textures, etc.
2. Zine Swap. I'm moving along nicely. I have about 10-15 pages in my zine and I have about 10 to go. I'm going to write a review for the movie "Doubt", a little recommendation section for books and cds (Dewey the Small Town Library Cat!!) and maybe 1-2 short articles about a current topic in feminism/GLBT rights. I might talk about derogatory language (f--, g--) and why it's harmful. I want to put my beliefs out there a little bit. I did a Post Secret and I've included poetry but I don't really have any "this is my belief" pieces. Oh. I'm making my zine into a PDF so that everyone can see. I've got the 10-15 pages done and scanned and ready to be published on teh interwebz. I just gotta hustle up and finish my last pages. My zine is very small, about 4x6" but has about 30 pages. Note to self: GET A GEL PEN! I need to be able to write on black paper.
3. Altoid Tin Swap. I've never done one of these before. It looks fun and easy. I'll probably tuck in a cheesy card, some die-cut/punches, some candy and some fun valentine's paper. I looked through the Altoid Tin First Aid Kit gallery and the tins came out PRECIOUS! One said, "Kiss My Boo Boo!" on the front and the things people thought to include were awesome (condoms, tweezers, lip balm, instructions for the Heimlich...)