random thoughts, owls and cute girls.

I actually accomplished something tonight! I made a load of cards and I'll post pictures of a couple of my favorites.














The supply shopping has not been going so well. I still need...everything. And now I need to add business cards to my list because I have seriously almost run out. I think I am going to make make a design and try my gocco to give my card a new look.















I had better get to bed. It's 12:30a.m. and I will be up at 6:00 and in a crazy training session all day at work tomorrow. Oh how I wish there were more hours in the day...

squirrels abound.

I like squirrels. They're fluffy and cute and will be making lots of appearances in my etsy shop in the coming weeks along with other forest friends. Excellent.

countdown to panic.

I have not yet reached full-on-renegade-panic-mode but did just realize that the show is just a little over six weeks away. This may not seem disturbing to anyone who makes a living from/has a lot of time to dedicate to their craft - but for me, it's quite distressing! My only craft time is carved out of delirious late nights and occasional lucky moments when both of my kids are napping.

I am trying to lay out a plan to get as much done as possible before the show. I am dedicating this week to supply shopping. I need everything - button parts, gocco ink, mod podge, cardstock....I could go on and on. I don't know why everything seems to run out at once.

I wonder if I can negotiate paying my rent in magnet sets and greeting cards.

disenchanting haiku

goddamn messy house
cleaning the whole freaking day
still super messy

!

Yay!

Thanks for your input on the owl designs. I printed some cards last night and they will be available in my etsy shop soon!

whooo do you like?

My husband and I are up late sketching madly to try to make some fun designs for notecards. Which owls do you like better? Please leave a comment to let me know! Boxy squareish goofy eyed owls - like this:









Or big fat simple sanrio-esque owls - like this one:













Of course these are just quick sketches - but which of the styles above (if any) do you dig? Thanks for your input!

trashion treasury!

I put together this lovely collection of upcycled treasures today. Click HERE to the list up close!

Passion for TRASHION!

What is Trashion? Our team is a group of over 80 artists from around the world who specialize in turning trash into treasure. The Etsy Trashion Team is about visualizing beauty in unconventional objects and materials. We fabricate art, jewelry, fashion and objects for the home from used, thrown-out & found elements. For us, trashion is a philosophy and an ethic. It encompasses environmentalism and innovation, and respects the human creative and healing potential.

The Etsy Trashion Team is hosting our very own Trunk Show at the Etsy Labs in NY on July 27th 6-8pm! That is THIS Friday! And it is FREE! You'll have a chance to see some amazing art, mingle with the artists, participate in trashion themed activities and and enjoy refreshments. Plus the first 25 guests will receive amazing swag! So if you are in NYC please check it out. You can check here for directions and please RSVP at rsvp@etsy.com if you know you'll be coming.

While Space Oddities will not be in Brooklyn on Friday, I will have some items available for sale at the trunk show! I sent some items off to etsy's own Sweetyprize who was kind enough to offer to display my work at the show. Yay!

For a sneak peek at some items that you can expect to see at the trunk show (from all of the artists) look HERE

bowl full of cherries

There is something that has been missing in my life lately...the lost art of BAKING. I love baking and cooking and haven't had much time to do either lately. For the past few years our family was a member of a local CSA (an organic farm that delivered fresh veggies to our neighborhood weekly - this one to be exact!) but this year we couldn't afford to buy our usual share. I am missing our veggie share like CRAZY! It takes a LOT of dedication and discipline to use up a big surprise box of vegetables every week! I love that it encouraged - well, forced - me to make fresh healthy foods for my family. I feel like I rely way too much on pre-packaged foods lately because I am busy and broke and know that I need to get back on track for my family.

Well last week my sister-in-law asked me to share a 20 pound box of cherries with her.













Heck yes! With 10 lbs. of delicious cherry goodness I have forced myself to find the time to do some real baking over the past week. I pitted a ton of cherries and made a fresh cherry pie. The picture above is just 6 cups of cherries I pitted for one pie. It is a very time consuming but relaxing task! We also had cherry pancakes and cherry muffins. Wow! I seriously didn't know I had it in me!

Here's to reviving a lost craft!! Now I just need to keep this momentum going. And of course I also need to make something besides PIE!!












We went to the farmer's market on Saturday. It's one of our favorite summer family outings. I picked up tomatoes, basil, zuchinni, lots of other good stuff. So hopefully the Thorson family will be eating well this week. Wish me luck!

block printing: take one!

Awhile back I posted a wish list of sorts that included a custom rubber stamp. Thanks to a suggestion from the talented Marissa (mlee on etsy), I decided to get the supplies to try making my own. My first project was a cupcake stamp to use for invitations for my daughter's first birthday. While it didn't turn out exactly as planned (it's my FIRST try and I'm still getting used to the tools) I am thrilled to have made it myself! Thanks so much, Marissa. I am excited to make more - including a new Space Oddities stamp, and possibly some fun designs for card sets - as soon as I get the hang of this process!

Go Gocco!

I am anxiously awaiting my birthday present.















My husband and I decided to go with the smaller, less expensive model when we realized that the only model available at paper source is $395 and probably much larger than we really need for our printing purposes. I am so excited to collaborate with my husband with gocco printing. He is the idea man and is also such a talented artist. I want him to get drawing NOW so we can have some new designs ready to get going right away!

I need to get a LOT done before Renegade so it's time to get busy. Lately I have been falling asleep super early when my kids go to bed, waking up at midnight-ish and either going back to sleep or staying up for a couple more hours to try to work on something. But instead of working on something productive I end up just surfing online or doing things that I HAVE to do like dishes or laundry (not that it's not productive, just not what I want to be doing.) Ugh. I really need to get on some sort of schedule and crank out the craft!

I'm hoping the gocco will be a bit of a source of new inspiration. I also need to start drinking more COFFEE.

xo
andrea

etsy poster challenge

Creating etsy treasuries has become a bit of a long standing addicition for me. I love putting together a harmonious mix of beautiful items and also love seeing what other people pull together to make perfect collections. So of COURSE I entered etsy's poster challenge! Etsy is choosing up to 20 treasuries to be printed as posters to use for giveaways and as a way to showcase the fabulous work on etsy.com. You can see all of the current entries on flickr and if you are a member at etsy.com click here for details on how to enter this contest yourself!
















And of course, please visit my treasury, click away and leave lots of comments! I should note that yes, I realize that a couple of my treasury choices are expired items. I have never done this before but I just decided to pop in a couple of old favorites. I just felt like my treasury couldn't possibly do without them.

mod mod...modder.

This magnet set and wax paper card were both made with scraps of craft paper that I've had tucked away in a drawer forever. I made the Vinyl Daydream wax paper card awhile back and completely forgot it existed - until my 2 year old decided to play in my craft area and leave it in total disarray! I guess I should thank him for mixing it up a little. The mod mod magnet set is one I whipped up just recently. I just love the print of this paper and wish I had more of it to use!

I made a new batch of pretty wax paper cards the other day. Here are a couple of my favorites. A bunch of these are en route to etsylabs (Brooklyn) for the etsy trashion trunk show coming up next week!

magical.

I adore this picture of my kids. They are actually playing nicely together. It's a miracle! They LOVE their new sand/water table and want to be outside playing with it all of the time.

Sale!!!

*****Pre-Trunk Show Sale July 15th– July 27th******
Space Oddities, along with lots of other Etsy Trashion street team members, is having a 15% off Sale to celebrate our up coming Trunk show at Etsy Labs on July 27! The sale runs from July 15th through July 27th and EVERYTHING in my shop will be on sale during this time. Check out my shop for details by clicking RIGHT HERE or check out items by clicking on the picture links below.

Etsy Buy Handmade spaceoddities

check it!

Some of my geekery is featured on Big Daddy Seashell blog along with other fun robots and nerdy goodness! Check it out here!

an oldie but a goodie

These wax paper cards are the one hand made item that I have been creating for the longest. I love the process and the results - and the fact that every card turns out so unique. Here are some of my favorites, old and new.












You can seal up just about any (semi-flat) embellishments in the wax paper and play with different colors of the cardstock to layer the colors just perfectly. Some of my my favorite things to use include drink umbrellas, fortune cookie fortunes and paper hearts.















I will be adding several of my newest wax paper style cards to my etsy shop in the coming weeks!

baby jette

My baby girl is turning one next month! I have been eyeing the following handmade goodies for her birthday.

Fleece Unicorn Hat by GlitzConcepts


















Mini Pop Art Cupcake Paintings by Jelene

















Adorable Squirrel/Tree Pony Tail Holders by MaryMarsh
















Cupcake Crochet Rug by Ekra



















Black Apple Paper Dolls by the Black Apple (okay, I really want these for ME!)

jackson five revived

This gift bag is already sent off to mallory aka Dismantled to use for the Etsy Trashion trunk show coming up in a few weeks - but I had to take a picture before sending it off because I just love how it turned out!!

stickers and swag.

I bought a sticker maker and it is even more fun than I imagined. I love it!! I played with it today and made stickers for my son and daughter and then made some small sets to post on etsy. I also whipped up some fun but random sets of 2 stickers to add to my trashion goody bag stuff and finally got all of that finished and (almost) ready to ship! It feels so good to have accomplished something!

Tomorrow I am hoping to go to Art vs. Craft if my kids are seeming up to it. I also have a ton of stuff to ship. Ugh, shipping. I wish the post office would just come to ME!

xo
andrea

Renegade!

I finally got the word late today that I was accepted to do Renegade Craft in Chicago. I'm so excited! I will be sharing a booth with the fabulous Sarah Ogren who makes beautiful mixed media collage art. As soon as the Etsy Trashion trunk show is over I will be dedicating all of my craft time to getting prepared for this show. It's a way bigger scene than I'm used to so it's time to get crafting - for serious!

a great book.

This old French novel that I picked up at a thrift store in Denver has turned out so many awesome projects!! I'm thinking up more crafty goodness to utilize the rest of the pages. Below is what I've come up with so far...


















Before I even got on the airplane to go home, I started ripping out pages with these notecards in mind.


















and then I punched some of the pages into circles and stamped with pretty birds to make these magnet sets. I used scraps of the pages to make the packaging, too. Fun!


















and of course I had to make some pinback buttons!! That's it so far! I plan to save some of the pages to use with my gocco, which I am hopefully getting for my birthday next week. I love the results of design over book text. I also just love French. French makes everything look and sound better. Au revoir!

goodbye craft night

My son is with his grandparents until tomorrow so I just have my baby girl. She was in bed by 8:30 and I had big plans to CRAFT the night away after I made a pasta salad for tomorrow's fourth of July festivities. Well, I laid down on the sofa after putting baby Jette to bed and didn't wake up until 1:00am. Grrrr!! NIGHT WASTED!!

This is the story of my life.

stuff I want

My birthday is next week. Here is my wish list...Chad, are you reading?!

Xyron Sticker Machine










Hand carved custom rubber stamp by Mayberry Sparrow














Gocco















Sharpies
















1980s High School Yearbooks