Hobbity goodness + Cyber Monday

I hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday! I had a nice, quiet long weekend home with my family. We ate tons of delicious food, spent lots of quality time together and even got to go see The Muppets! 

I also spent a lot of time crafting. I have two more shows coming up. On Saturday, December 3rd, you can find me at the Seventh Annual Holiday Craftacular at the East Side Club in Madison. And on December 11th I will be at Wrapping up the Holidays which will be at The Glitter Workshop on the west side of Madison.

Here are some of my newest creations! This bracelet is made with elvish script taken from the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring. I absolutely love how this turned out. The script is so beautiful. And paired with the antique brass bracelet, it just looks so magical! I made this one for a custom request and have decided to make more for my etsy shop and to bring to our upcoming shows. 

I have also been playing with making rings. This is one of the first. Again with script from a Tolkien book. More of these to come soon!

I have also started to make more necklaces with book text. Here's one of the newest. I'll have more of these featuring Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland and more at our shows and in our etsy shop in the coming weeks! 

And finally - Cyber Monday!! I have been keeping my etsy shop as well stocked as possible and would like to offer a little something extra for purchases in our etsy shop on Monday, November 28th. All orders placed from 12:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. CST on November 28th, 2011 will receive one free hair pin with purchase. I will choose the hair pin and it will be related to your purchase. So if you buy a Harry Potter bracelet, you might get a "muggle" hair pin. If you purchase a super hero pin pack, you just may get spiderman or batman hair pin! A great way to get a little something extra for yourself or to give as an extra little gift or stocking stuffer! You can see some hair pin examples HERE.

In addition to the free gift with purchase, you can also receive FREE SHIPPING on all orders with coupon code CYBER11 at checkout now through Monday November 28th. Use this coupon code when you place your order and the shipping charges will automatically be removed! 

So visit The Bookish Life on etsy on Cyber Monday and knock out some holiday shopping while getting a little extra gift with ANY purchase! 

Have a fabulous week, everyone! 

The Bookish Life

Hello friends! I have big news and I am so exicted to share it!

After almost 6 years of selling our handmade wares as Space Oddities, we have decided to change our business name! We loved Space Oddities when we chose it because it was a fun, lighthearted name that we felt fit the randomness of what we were making at the time. Our new name was chosen with our more focused creative path in mind.

Over the years we have created lots of different items, many of them from recycled books and comics with our original art work integrated. We feel that we have finally found our niche and plan to move forward with The Bookish Life in full force!

We have a new collection of literary bracelets, necklaces and hair accessories that we are very excited about in addition to our current bookish items that include art prints on old book pages and mirrors, magnets, cards and pins featuring recycled comics and books. Check out the bookish life etsy shop to see some of our newest creations!

Above is the logo that Chad made for our new shop banner and business cards. We had intended to wait until the new year to move forward with this name change, but once he drew this, I knew I couldn't wait any longer!

We have a few upcoming shows where you will be able to find a large selection of some of our newest items as well as some of our oldies but goodies. Our first show is on Sunday, November 13 in Madison at the Goodman Center. You can find more details about the Crafty Fair on Facebook!

Have a fabulous November!

Andrea

Recycled Book Bracelets!

Happy October! I have been keeping very busy making lots of new bracelets featuring recycled classic books, fun popular books, vintage sheet music and other goodies. It's my new favorite thing to make! I have a few in my etsy shop and will be adding many more soon. Look for Catcher in the Rye, Chronicles of Narnia, Edgar Allen Poe, Les Miserables and several others in the coming weeks.

You can find Space Oddities and Glitter Workshop wares at the Dane County Farmers' market for a few more Saturdays (as long as the weather holds out!) so stop out and check out our newest creations!

Holiday shows are just around the corner! My first show will be The Crafty Fair, November 13 at the Goodman Center in Madison. Save the date! It's going to be a fantastic show!

1000 etsy sales + autumn love + giveaway!

I love autumn. I adore the leaves crunching under my feet, the chilly nights, apple orchards, pumpkin patches, scarves, fabulous produce and everything else that comes along with it.

Last week on the first day of autumn,  Space Oddities reached 1000 sales in our etsy shop! We are having a giveaway to celebrate. Comment here to tell us your favorite thing about autumn and you'll be entered into a drawing to win a Space Oddities gift package that will include an art print of your choice, an assorted button pack, a pair of hair pins and several other surprises.

I'll choose a winner randomly from posts here and on facebook on Monday October 3rd. Happy autumn!

New things!

I recently started making big, bold headbands featuring some of our favorite designs. I love how they are turning out!

I'm also continuing to make lots of fun hair pins. These are from a vintage book about bicycles, a vintage dessert cookbook, and an old comic book!

 

And I have also started making bracelets. Here are a couple of my recent favorites.

Harry Potter!

Vintage cookbook bracelet.

We will continue to be down at the Dane County Farmers' Market on Saturdays through October with all of these goodies and more! You can also check new items in our etsy shop. We are adding new items daily. 

Have a wonderful week!

Good things.

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind. Here are some of the highlights!

xxoo

-andrea

Hello June!

Wisconsin has decided to skip over spring and head right into summer. It's hot and humid, folks! After a couple of wacky weather months, I'm thrilled to have a decent forecast for the weekend. I'm especially excited because this means nice weather for the Dane County Farmers' Market!

We are excited to be back at the market for our second season. This year we are happy to be sharing a booth with The Glitter Workshop!You can find us at the market every Saturday through October (weather permitting) and we will constantly be adding new products. You can follow Space Oddities on Facebook for more regular updates on new items and market specials!

This week I have been busy printing a few of my favorite designs on kids shirts and bibs. I even convinced my 4 year old to model for me! Here are some new shirts you can find at the market this weekend. These are also available in our etsy shop!

I adore this 'Raining in my heart' design. It's a little retro, a little moody, and a lot cute.

And here is Jette modeling 'My favorite robot.' which I think is perfect for girls or boys.

And this week Naomi has been busy making beatuful garden markers. They are just $8! Come early for the best selection!



We hope to see you out at the market this summer!

xo

Andrea

Life is good and busy, just how I like it. A quick update on what's up in CraftTherapyLand, yes? 

Jette had her first ballet recital last month and it was so adorable I can't even believe it.  Here's a photo of the kiddos together just after the recital.  

Spring. It's here. The kids are so happy to be able to play outside now that the weather has slowly started to get decent. They are as sweet and willful as ever and make my every day more special.

I have been keeping very busy between my day job, helping out at Glitter Workshop, the kiddos, the farmers' market (which I have not been to much yet...but there is a LOT of the season left!) and everything else that life throws at me. Unfortunately I have not made a lot of new products lately. I have a few new ideas that I have been wanting to try but I just haven't found the time to pull it together. 

I have been making more fun hair pins. 

And some other assorted goodies. But what I really want to do is get printing some new designs! And old designs. I have been itching to get the Gocco out. Hopefully my next post will be gocco related. And new design related. We shall see what time allows. 

Happy spring, friends!!

Literary Hair Pins!

Something new! Pretty little bobby pins made with itty bitty bits of text from classic and not so classic literature. Great one-of-a-kind gifts for bookish types. I started listing just a few pairs in my etsy shop and there will be many more coming soon!

I'm looking for suggestions on classic books that would make fun bobby pins. Something that you would recognize from just a tiny scrap of text or one word. If you have any suggestions, please do share!

xo

andrea

Red Velvet

Red velvet sounds as dreamy as it does delicious, doesn't it?

I decided to give red velvet cupcakes a try today. Would you believe me if I told you the recipe I decided on was on the back of the red food coloring I bought at Target? I had already found a couple of recipe possibilities but this one just seemed like it was the one.

I have never made them before and I have to say that they turned out just as red and lovely and yummy as I had hoped. It's really a pretty cupcake!

 And even prettier (and tastier!) with cream cheese frosting. The kids each ate one right away...after destroying it with sprinkles, that is. Here is Jette posing with me before the sprinkle attack.

Here is the recipe as found on the back of my Market Pantry red food coloring. I am really happy with it. The cake turned out very moist and flavorful!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp vanilla

1-1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350F.  Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream, milk, food coloring and vanilla. Beat in flour, cocoa and soda on low speed just until blended. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting..

And here is my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe from my no frills Betty Crocker cookbook!

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp milk

4 cups confectioners sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla and milk until blended and fluffy. Add sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth and spreadable. ***I usually use closer to 3 or 3-1/2 cups of sugar because I am not into super sweet frostings!

Enjoy!

I opened this giant bottle of vanilla last week. I had another large bottle that I thought would last forever but have been baking so much lately that it's going fast. I opened the bottle on March 12 and I am going to keep track and see how long it lasts this time! Once this one is gone I will be all out of my fancy, yummy vanilla from Mexico. Maybe when this runs out it'll be time for a vacation?

Iron Cupcake Madison: Marshmallow!

My sister-in-law and I baked for Sunday's Iron Cupcake challenge at the High Noon Saloon. The theme was marshmallow and we chose the mallo cup (one of my favorite treats!) as inspiration.

I was happy with our yummy creation. It's a chocolate cupcake with homemade marshmallow creme filling and topped with toasted coconut chocolate ganache. Total chocolate overload!

My camera was on the fritz so the above shot is by Jenny Sligh, one of the other bakers at the event who also happens to be a talented photographer. Thanks Jenny!

I have really been enjoying baking lately and just might take on the next iron cupcake challenge as well. The theme is so unique: children's books! Chad is actually considering being a part of this challenge as well. Although he is not interested in baking like I am, he is interested in the creative possibilities of this theme. We are currently thinking about using Coraline or The Wolves in the Walls, both favorites by Neil Gaiman, as inspiration. Luckily the next Challenge isn't until June so we have some time to think about it and lots of time to practice!

bracelet making & cupcake baking

I made these bracelets the at The Glitter Workshop's crafts & cupcakes night. The French text one is for me and the fairy bracelet is a gift for my 4 year old. I like how they turned out and had such a nice time making them. Glitter is planning to have more drop in craft & cupcake nights so you will have a chance to make your own if you're interested.  

I also provided the goodies at the event. Vegan cookies & cream cupcakes and Strawberry Pop Rocks cupcakes. I was happy with both but especially liked how the vegan cupcakes turned out. 

I am taking it easy this weekend. I had an unexpected physical wake-up call last night that resulted in me spending a very, very quiet day at home doing nothing today. After one day of nothing I am already tired of doing nothing. But I am going to keep it up for the weekend and get some real, much needed rest so I can get back to the grind on Monday. 

Have a fantastic weekend!

xo

andrea

Strawberry Pop Rocks Cupcakes

It's been a lazy Sunday filled with cupcake baking, catching up on housework and games and movies with the kiddos.

I have been wanting to try a Pop Rocks cupcake and finally made it happen today. The cupcake is made with strawberry soda pop and the frosting is a buttercream with more strawberry soda for flavor and color. I topped it with a sprinkling of Pop Rocks candy. I didn't take the time to fancy frost these but I think they still look pretty yummy (and turned out tasting pretty delish as well!) I love the literal pop of flavor. It's so fun!

Collaborative art wall project: a call to artists!

The recently opened Glitter Workshop, a lovely crafty shop on the west side of Madison, has a great big room that has a whole lot of wall space to fill. The room is set apart from the retail space and is used for craft and art workshops and classes, trunk shows where artists show and sell their work monthly, and craft parties.

After talking to owner Naomi about creative ideas to fill this space, we have decided that it would be so much fun to showcase YOUR creative work! Are you ready for the challenge? The idea is a collaborative art wall which will feature mediums of all kinds - from drawing, painting and photography to quilting, collage, and screen-printing and everything inbetween. Get creative: the sky's the limit! Anyone is welcome to contribute one or two submissions which will be hung on the wall with love and enjoyed by people in the Madison community during Glitter Workshop's monthly trunk shows, workshops, classes and other events.

If you're interested in contributing, please send your work in an approximately 4" x 6" format (please try to stick to something close to this size, it will make it much easier for us to hang your work and make it jive with everything else) and please keep your work family friendly as there will be children visiting this space.

We hope you will participate! If you know anyone who might like to contribute, please pass this info on to them! We're excited to see what everyone creates and can't wait to see how it all comes together! I plan to post updates here as submissions come in so we can keep track of the progress and see the wall fill up!

Submissions can be mailed to or dropped off at: 6138 Mineral Point Rd., Madison, WI, 53705

For more information about the Glitter Workshop, visit online HERE. 

For questions about the project, feel free to comment here or contact me via e-mail at space.odditiesmail@gmail.com 

deliciousness

I baked cupcakes for a little soiree at The Glitter Workshop last night. 

Chocolate with raspberry buttercream and a fresh raspberry. 

Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut. 

I have really been enjoying baking lately! I feel a little bit like baking is my new crafting to a certain extent these days. At the beginning of the year I made a couple of goals. I want to bake more and write more. The baking I have done in just the past month alone has been such a huge learning experience and step forward for me. I signed up with my sister-in-law to bake at the upcoming Iron Cupcake Madison event coming up in March. The theme is marshmallow and we have a super fun and delish cupcake we can't wait to share with Madison cupcake lovers! 

I spent the morning at the Iron Cupcake Milwaukee event and was definitely inspired by some of the creativity and deliciousness there. It was a delightful event. Apparently attendance was over 2000 and they had to turn people away! Who knew cupcakes could draw such a big crowd!

I was also inspired by the time I spent at the Glitter Workshop this weekend. If you haven't been there yet, make time to go soon! The store is overflowing with beautiful handmade things and now there is even an entire vintage boutique with amazing hand picked items. Love!

Speaking of love, have a killer Valentine's day with the people you love, okay?

Enjoy your week and do something awesome!

xo

andrea

I love crafting up goodies for valentine's day! I haven't had a ton of time so far but have made some collage cards and sweet mirrors over the last couple of weeks. Here are a few of my favorites.