Moo... Moo Oreo Cows?

My newest little creation the Oreo Cow! What's an Oreo cow? They're cows that are black and white that resemble an Oreo with black on both ends and white in the middle just like the cookie. I first saw those in New Jersey where my family visited a farm owned by a friend. It was pretty darn cool.

It's been a while since I updated with the holidays and what not but I was spending most of my time filling a huge order for my cousin's Asian college club. Chinese New Year is around January 26 if I'm not mistaken and they wanted 100 ox and cow inspired magnets as party favors. First I created multiple designs and his peers would weigh in on which two were the best and took in their suggestions. In the end I had my two designs and now I had to make 50 of each. I went to many stores but none had the cow print I really wanted so instead I made the cow print myself. I took Chinese Calligraphy Black Ink and basically just stamped random designs and it came out pretty well.
After about a day of basically working non stop, once I get an order I want to finish it ASAP. I set the magnets fifty to a board and spray them with thin coats of acrylic spray to make them water resistant and wear and tear resistant. I let them dry and when I look at the huge board of cows and oxes I wondered how I even managed to do so many in such a short time.
I packed all 100 to go in this nice black box and yeps ready to roll. I hope they are a great hit up in his University. I did wince a bit when one of his friends said "I could do that" but then again... would they really spend the time to do so? I find myself saying that every so often and I stop myself because whoever did the work actually did it while the only thing I did was spout about how I coulda, woulda, shoulda but did not. So writing this post I'm pretty bushed... phew...

Until next time... Happy Holidays! And don't say you coulda, woulda, shoulda... if you won't...

Freezing My Teddy Bits Off.

Yes that is the actual picture of the thermometer at noon today. A whole 4 degrees. It is freezing cold here in NYC and it was at a -13 degrees when I went out at 8am this morning bringing my brother to school. Insane! The snow was very nice coming down bu unfortunately after being run over by cars and people alike the snow is this mushy gray and now it's gray ice on the streets. Not good. My parents got a new coat for my little brother and he looked like a black and red pillow walking down the street holding my hand with his tiny mitten hands.

SO... since it was sooo cold I decided to post this Teddy and Me ornament because she looked absolutely so warm and cozy with her fuzzy teddy bear. Personally I don't have teddy bears or dolls because I'm somewhat allergic to them and my skin gets itchy and red. That doesn't stop people from giving them to me and now I have a rather large collection. Teehee. Also since I had no school or work today I spent the whole time wondering what to give to my boyfriend of many years. He knows I'm a major art person and he loves oil paintings of landscapes btw he has not one creative bone in his body unless you count how creative he gets with burping. So this year I spent the better half of the morning about 3 hours painting the forest painting above.

I grant you this is the second time I've painted with oil paints and there was something about oil painting that didn't agree with me... I rather preferred pastels and charcoal but I don't think it turned out too bad. At first I really disliked it but now looking at it from afar it was growing on me and now I want to hang it in my living room. I got a lot of help from well.. YouTube.. they have these great tutorials on "How to draw a tree" or "How to draw the sky" of course it really does take a lot of practice. When I get enough space so I can pull up an easel and all my supplies I'll try it some more.

Until next time... Keep warm! (and for you people living in summery weather... let's switch places... eh eh?)

I Love Custom Orders!

Quite a good amount of my sold items are custom order ones. I love making miniature origami dolls of people and adding all these tiny details according to their likes and dislikes. The minute I get the photos and or descriptions I immediately know what designs I should do. For example I made mini Ipods for people who loves music, cell phones and game controllers, the tinier the details I need to make the more it challenges me. For example the little girl above I twisted the bow out of tissue paper and the gift box she is hold is made from tissue paper covered Bristol paper and tiny green construction paper I cut and glue. It gives everything a more 3D look.

I also love it when customers give me their ideas and I really enjoy interacting with them to make the perfect little ornaments. I tell you it's all worth it. I love seeing their reactions when I send back pictures of the completed item but it's also soooo nerve wracking. Would they like it? Is it accurate? Did I make them right?

If you don't do custom orders please please do! It opens up a great new opportunity and you get to met some really great people! Also look in the Custom (Use to be called Alchemy) section of Etsy ... you can find people that request custom items and you can also make a request if you can't find something online.

Until next time... create... create... and oh yeah... CREATE!

The Gift of Friends

Above are my chibi (mini) gift tags up in my store. It reminds me of something that happened...

Speaking of gifts... there are few things if anything that are more precious then the gift of friends and friendship. Well yesterday was the work holiday party and I brought salad (btw I had no idea how to make salad) and it went great. We had the people of our department come and everyone brought something from homemade curry rice, baked ziti, chicken fried rice, THREE cakes!! YUMMY! Chips, drinks, candy. It was great! My coworkers while I was stuffing my face had prepared a birthday cake, a scrumptious strawberry shortcake for me and my other coworker and great friend Yan. Our birthdays are 7 days apart. To be honest I was floored. I had zipp-O clue that they were going to do this. So they caught me with my face full of ziti and chips and took a nice picture.
Yan whose also a craft partner in crime she has a B.S in Studio Art but studying to be a nurse now brought me ta-da! This fantastically warm and fluffy blue/purple yarn and large purple knitting needles. I had complained many times that I lost my grandma's four golden needles and was very upset. Of course immediately I started knitting. She taught how to cast on which was different from what I usually do but it made a lot more sense.

And after an hour, I'm quite slow I made about two feet? That's my scarf above. Though I might give it to my sister or my mom since they're always nagging that I make so much stuff yet nothing for them. So now they can quit complaining. LOLOL.
Everyone chipped in for the wonderful whimsical card and since they couldn't think of a big present they just gave me money. I may be hard to shop for but I was super pleased with my knitting equipment! I don't like expensive items either nor do I think I really need that newest phone or the coolest computer. I like Old Chugga my computer and my crappy phone.
Cha-ching! I didn't realize how much was in it until I came home and it was a whopping 95 bucks. That is A LOT. This would go into my funding my next craft fair fund! Woot! I'm not very emotional person so I was so touched by what my coworkers did. It's only been a year at this job but I do love my coworkers. They're all so cool. Every time it's someones birthday we always chip in to get something for someone. I chipped in for Yan's new Mac Book and J.C's Ps3. I never thought of getting anything in return. But wow... such friends and coworkers are hard to find.

Until next time... Cherish your friendships

Phew Craft Fair!

It was a very very nerve racking day! I spent the two days before preparing everything. Making and organizing my table was much harder then I thought. I had to find something flat and made of metal so my magnets could stick to it. I was pretty set on not spending or spending very little on making my display. I come from a family of pack rats so I had a lot of leftover cardboard boxes and odds and ends. I got the metal lid of a large cookie box taped a large logo over it and ta-da it was my magnet display!
For the ground floor I used two long boxes that made the perfect little shelf for my little origami. I just spread out and displayed my other flat items.
I've heard it was good to have several "tiers" so people can look. I made this nifty hanger for my ornament out of cardboard and pushpins. It didn't turn out half bad. After preparing everything I set off with my boyfriend in tow. Teeheehee.

I got there around 9am and set up along with many others. There were about twenty vendors and the area was a long hallway. It was fairly roomy and I was way too shy to really talk to anyone which I now regret since they all had wonderful items!
I meet naokosstoop there. I did not even know she had an etsy store until she convoed me this morning. She is absolutely very polite Japanese girl and so very nice! She has these fantastic whimsical prints that sold like hot cakes. I can see why. She was right across from me so I got to see her pretty booth all day. It was very simple and her charming smile was so very cute. =D

Being the extremely extremely shy person I met other etsy people but didn't get their names I know there was a wonderful jewelry maker from the NEWNEW Team. Ah ha. I found her! Alicia from LinguaNigra. She makes these fantastic jewelry out of this metal that has all the sass but none of the weight since they are so light. She was also extremely nice and friendly unlike me.. doh... lolol!

It was very fun and I made 3x my table fee which I'm extremely happy about! It's a small step but hey I had so much fun. I met a lot of people and many people who looked at my origami said they were so cute and laughed at some of their silly expressions. I liked it when they pointed at one and said it reminded them of some one. I plum sold out of my magnets and half of my little dolls. I noticed most people looked at what was on my table not on my stand. I wondered what was up with that. I'm happy nevertheless. Next time.. yes there will be a next time... I will work on those social skills.

Until next time... you don't know until you try...

(I'm glad I did!)

My First Craft Show!

Yep... you heard it... I was invited to a small juried craft show in SoHo. Click on the poster for more info! Yep my first craft show will be at the Hello Zen! Holiday Market 2008 in New York City. It's on December 13th at 10:30am - 6pm. It's located at 588 Broadway between Houston and Prince on the 11th floor.

I am completely floored and excited and overwhelmed! I'm going to be sharing half a table 3ft x 3ft. Yeah it's small but I can't fathom anything bigger. I've been reading as much information about preparing for one on the forums and blogs and on the net. I'm kind of worried... about my items.. and my self and the whole thing. I'm naturally very shy and when it comes to criticism about my own work I take it to heart. I have so much to do like business cards, how many items I should bring which is I don't have too much (my cousin took 1/4 of my inventory to show his fraternity and propose that they can sell them on Valentine's Day with their usual roses), display, prices, money, etc... I'm printing up some cards but I personally don't know how many, right now I'm just doing 200... I'm also afraid if I can get along with my tablemate... ah.. so many things to think about...

About my etsy shop I was wondering if I should just put it in vacation mode because most everything I make is one of a kind. sighsigh... so many things to do and no time!

I'm set on doing it though.. it's a great opportunity and I just can't ignore this slice of pie that life has smacked me in the face with. So I'm going to do my best, smile and be thankful that I have this great chance and experience!

Until next time... wish me luck!

Just One of those Days...

Have you ever had one of those days where you want one of those door hangers I made above stapled on your forehead or orbiting you? Ah it's cold and dreary grey day in the city. It's warmer then yesterday but then again yesterday was 19 degrees when I woke up. Just all around crappy which is bad since finals are coming around very soon and I must be hyped up and ready to cram all that info in my little head! Also need to straighten out some other business that I'm not looking forward to doing. Blah.. Blllaaaaaah....!

On a brighter note I just had my first international order! From Spain! Oh my goodness... I've never thought someone so far would love my items enough to buy it. I'm actually really excited even though I never been to Europe having send my little guys over is like a piece of myself traveling there. One of these days I will visit Europe... I found the lovely picture below of Spain I picked up from National Geographic. They have wonderful pictures and really good information for both travelers and people interested of many countries!The first picture is "Madrid’s Kio Towers, also known as "Europe’s Gate" are inclined skyscrapers at the edge of Plaza Castilla." It looks absolutely wonderful such a blending of modern art and ancient art. One of the things I truly love is how people are able to blend both modern and ancient art to make these wonderful mixed art.This one overlooks the city of Barcelona. It looks beautiful and you can even see the hills in the background.

This picture is of a bullfight in Pamplona, Spain. I remember my junior high school Spanish teacher was from Spain and she loved everything about Spain especially bullfighting. I admit it's pretty darn brave to go out there dance with an angry bull.

Looking at all these pictures there are places and things I want to do. For now I can just look and dream. Dream about the Great Wall of China, pyramids of Egypt, Mayan and Aztec Temples, Shinto Temples of Japan, all the wonderful Greek temples actually anything ancient. When I was young I seriously considered being a Archaeologist and a Paleontologist.

Until next time... never stop dreaming of all the places you want to go and all the things you want to do...

Love Knot <3

Woot! I got my first sale of the month and on my very very good friend's Joyce's birthday!! It was another custom order of my Red Lover's Knot Meekiyua Couple. On the back has a double heart blank tag to put a couple's name on it. It's up in my shop right now just click the picture. I got this nifty idea from this belief in Chinese culture that a red line or a Red Thread of Destiny locks two people that were destined to be together basically they are soul mates. I've seen it in many Chinese shows I have watched and supposed there is a god up in the heavens that would binds people together by tying a red thread around their ankles. I've watched many humorous and sad love tales about how this red thread of destiny brings happiness and sadness.

Although I don't believe that there's an old man up there tying us to our destined true love, I believe in something called a soul mate.

Until next time... there's someone for everyone.

Finals and Goodwill

Yeah well that's me. I was reading a forum post about people being extremely bored at work because either they have no work to do or their work is just plain boring. I was thinking the same until it hit me... I was behind in a lot of my computer work. I spent the better part of 2 hours on excel making up calculation sheets and spreadsheets of various things. Unfortunately now it's the end of the semester and it's all finals and registration. The computer labs I work in, are packed to the brim and we had up to twenty people waiting. It may not sound like a lot but our hallway is pretty tiny. When people wait understandably they get extremely cranky and snap at you. Working with the public must be courteous no matter the situation. Glad it's winding down =D.
On to lighter news... The above ornament that took a better half of the whole evening just because of the brainstorming and the tiny details I made to donate to charity. There was a silent auction in a hospital and they needed to raise money. I know it's very very small gesture but it's the best I can do in my lack o' money situation.

Also I saw the most interesting reality show called Secret Millionaire where basically these rich people dress down and live for a week on one social security check in some of the worst neighborhoods and meet the people there. In the end they decide who to give a check ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 to people they feel deserve that uplifting break. For example one couple went to somewhere in Louisiana where Hurricane Katrina basically blew most of the town away. They met a pastor that was finally rebuilding his home after spending two years working on other people's home and their church. Among them were people who lost their homes, everything they ever owned, even the school was basically a shell of it's former self. The couple donated $50,000 to the pastor and another $50,000 to the high school football team to make new lockers, fields buy what they need. I'm not a big fan of football but I know that team sports in small towns and big cities alike brings a sense of community even though the rough stuff.

Even though I know anyone chances of that happening is slim it reminds me that in any situation whether economical, emotional, medical etc. there are people out there who realize how lucky they are no matter their own situation offer helping hands. Even though we cannot hand over $50,000 to someone we can do little things like offer a hot meal to those that need it, a place to stay, volunteer and what I think is most important is offering a bit of ourselves, our time and our sympathy.

Until next time... offer a hand to someone in need because one day someone will offer their hand to you in your time of need...

Bookmarks Galore!

Yeps ever since I got my new beloved 1.25" hole punch cutter I've been cutting a whole bunch of Bristol paper circles and drawing faces on them. Then I got this stroke of genius and created the little bookmarks above available in my shop. At first I noticed that with the heads the 1.5" x 6" white blank bookmark lacked that bit of oomph. Doodling little circles and polka dots I came up with those designs. I love how they turned out!
I also made bookmarks of my ACEO images and hand colored them. These are also available in my shop. Right now I made a little key chain type thing that I sprayed with three coats of Kyrlon Acrylic Spray and carrying it wherever I go to test the durability. I'm a bit iffy on laminating and resin which I hear stinks to high heaven!
I've also been working hard on some art I'm getting ready to put up in an art auction next year in July. I know that's really far in the future but I want a good variety of art since it takes me about a week or so to make each one from the pencil drawing to outlining in pen to scanning it and getting it on photoshop and another week or two weeks to decide on the paper and place to print them. The first one I print I do more designing by hand adding to it's uniqueness. The one above is the black and white version of a piece of art I sold last year but with my new photoshop I'll be recreating it and also adding some extras.

Until next time... create what your heart desires.. =D

How to Make a Simple Frame

I was doing my usual roaming around the forums where I came upon one about gift sets... which are always a great idea! A little bit of everything. The person mentioned about how she wanted simple frames and wanted to learn how to make one and this sparked this frame I use to make when I was very young (4th grade) and now I will give it to you. I'll be making a simple white frame for my ACEO. Above are the tools you'll need. The picture you want to frame, paper (card stock, wood w/e- let your imagination roam around here- colors/patterns) scissors, glue, pencil.
Okay I opted for a piece of white construction paper that I had left over from doing something else and cheated a bit by folding it in half.

Okay now loosely trace the outline of your photo.
Now you can cut with an exact-o knife or scissor. I cheated again here by folding it in half and cutting a rectangle about a quarter of an inch smaller then the actual size of the card.
Now apply glue on the penciled side 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the border but do not glue the top. You will be sliding your photo in from the top or if you want from the side but the top is much better. Now wait for that to dry.
You know that rectangle piece of paper you cut before you can fold it at one end in the shape of a triangle.
Spread it open like above and add glue to the diamond.
Anchor the diamond about halfway down the back of the frame making sure that the end points the opposite way of the opened top.
Here's a close up. Now let that dry. Now what was the point of this?
Why it makes the perfect prop for the frame. Now you can slip the photo inside and it props up all by itself. What's even better is that you can fold the prop to the side and lay it flat and reprop it anytime you want.
Here's the back! This is really great to do with kids and parents alike. Also a great idea for teachers and young kids. I use to work as an Arts and Crafts Teacher Assistant where the teacher for some reason was never there so I ended teaching the class of 2nd graders to 6th graders. Also next time I'll include one of how to make a more advance version of this frame!

Here's a couple more ideas... you can stack these up to make a big frame of little frames just use studier paper/wood whatever. They're easy to decorate and if you really want you can glue a clear plastic behind the rectangle opening so it offers protection against your photos. Also you can chain them to make a row of frames and don't be limited to just rectangles... make hearts, stars, squares.... the sky's the limit.

Hope everything is clear from the pictures to the descriptions! If you have any questions or whatever just drop a comment!

After Holidays Burnout!

I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did! I had the traditional turkey and stuffing and the wonderful little dishes that somehow only come around this time of the year. Also had some non-traditional Thanksgiving hotpot which is basically a boiling pot of broth and you can dip vegetables and meat. It was a great long vacation where my boyfriend and I went to shop, shop, shop! I got my sister the DVD player and camera memory card she's been hounding me for. I baked two cakes for my family, got myself a much needed huge hole puncher that I am totally in love with. Right now I'm in holiday burnout and I just posted up the little guy above called "I'm so Darn Cold" which was what I was feeling when I was crafting him.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!