Today's post is a bit like Ambrosia ....

Just a nice little mix of stuff, swirled together with some whipped cream. (I actually *really* like ambrosia ... and that green pistachio kind my mom used to make ... now I'm hungry)

Anyway.

There are some great things going on in Austin over the next couple of days and weeks that I wanted to let you know about. Let's get started with tonight (and every Thursday, actually)

Arts & Drafts at Rio Rita
I haven't been to this yet, but I'm going tonight with a couple of good friends. I've been dying to hook up with a social crafting club in Austin. Heck, I've even wanted to start one, but just haven't had the time or energy. Hoorah for one already in the mix! You can check out their Myspace page for more information - and pictures. I see velvet-y couches. I see folks crafting. I see beer. I'm.so.there.

Don't Shop; Swap!
In case you didn't catch my feature over on Craftzine.com, this is a brilliant event put on by Kathie Sever and Bernadette Noll of the Future Craft Collective. Instead of cramming in to stores this weekend to save a measly $8 for every $100 you spend, do something that's good for your DIY skillz and the environment. It's a back to school clothing swap (complete with sewing machines and volunteers to help you modify clothes if you want to). The event will be this Saturday, August 16, from 10AM - 2PM at Zilker Elementary School. You can read more about it over at Craftzine.com and get all the details on the Future Craft Collective Web site.

Jennifer Perkin's Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewlery and Craft08 Release Party!
I am beyond thrilled to be teaming up with the rockin' Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club to celebrate the release of her new book, Naughty Secretary Club: The Working Girls Guide to Handmade Jewelry. Mark your calendars for August 30 from 3-6 PM, 'cause we'll be hosting a blow out craftabulous event at Craft-O-Rama. It's like a crafty double-header. Remember how much fun the Craft07 Release Party was? Now take that and toss in the coolest kitsch jewelry gal celebrating her rad new book and you can imagine that this even will be off the hizook.

Did I just type "hizook?" I can't help it, I'm that excited. Stay tuned to the blog for more information as we get closer to the event.

Hopefully I'll get to see some of you crafty Austin-ites at one - or all - of these events. Who's with me?

Look who's blogging for CRAFT!

Gulp.

Pardon me while I go run around the house screamin' willy nilly for a minute.

Whew.

Very very very excited. Over the moon thrilled. Just so pumped for some fun bringing Crafty Maker Faire Austin news to you. It's a real privilege to be able to showcase and highlight the vibrant Austin crafting community for such a wide audience. And, of course, being the huge Craft magazine/blog fan that I am, I still sitting here in a total state of would-someone-just-go-ahead-and-pinch-me?

My first post will go up shortly. Be sure to check it out!

There are some awfully nice folks around here ....

Since I've been so behind on blogging the last couple of weeks, I haven't been able to say "thanks" to some folks who have bestowed some very sweet compliments on me recently. I'm blushing! Seriously!

I gasped out loud when I saw my blog listed in Susan Beal's Top 25 favorite craft blogs in her post on CraftStylish about using Bloglines to keep up with crafty blogs. Wha-HUH!? Holy smokes! I'm so flattered. I'm a big fan of Susan's, and feel quite honored to be among her top 25. Whewboy!

Next, I got tagged by Melissa at Elemental Stitches. I'll get to the rules of that tagging and my answers to what my "quirks" are in just a sec.

I also received an award from Alicia at Curiosities 808. She has some of the most detailed tutorials I've ever seen, and she does a lot of stuff with crayon tinting. Be sure to check her out.

The tagging and award have rules that I can't fully adhere to at the moment (like tagging and nominating 6 and 7 other blogs) but I say, tag yourself or recommend yourself in the comments, and let's start generating some pat-ourselves-on-the-back, shall we?

And because it's late, I'm headachy and this is my fourth post to write *tonight* I'm gonna go ahead and list 6 of my (many) quirks.

~ I love to make beds. I think this comes from my mom's nesting nature. If we ever move, or are visiting somewhere, she makes up the bed first thing. It's kind of a comfort thing. Then, when I was a Junior Volunteer in junior high school (that's a candy striper to most folks) I learned the beauty of the hospital corner and was hooked. I am a master bed-maker now.

~ I am strangely compulsive about the way I load my dishwasher. As someone whose housekeeping skills tend toward almost zilch, I can't believe that my two top quirks are home-ec related. Ah well. All I can say is that I can load a dishwasher to hold more dishes (and still get them clean) than anyone.

~ I have a weird talent of being able to recognize voices. Whether in voice overs on commercials, cartoons or animated movies, I can identify voices like nobody's business. It actually kinda freaks my husband out.

~ I love children's television/movies and have been known to record and watch them even when the kids aren't around. I'm not talkin' Teletubbies here - just the good stuff.

~ Hair grosses me out. Even if it's my own, if I see a stray hair somewhere, I gag. Blegh.

~ I'm a cereal addict. I could eat it for every meal - day in, day out. One of my most memorable dining moments in college was walking in to the ginormous cafeteria and discovering a full on cereal bar - complete with all the sugar cereals I'd been denied as a kid. I still wish I could install a cereal bar in my kitchen.

So that's it. If you feel like sharing your quirks in the comments or on your blog - go for it! Embrace your quirks - they are what makes you special! (kinda)

Crafty Finds From Portland: The Vintange Embroidery Transfer Motherlode

Here's the find that had me shaking in my boots. I found it toward the end of the basket of transfers. As I unfolded it, I could see the type through the paper and instantly recognized the words - how could I not? They were the words we spoke at the beginning of every Girl Scout meeting we had this year.

Yep. I found a vintage (1940) Girl Scout Sampler ... in pristine condition. It's breathtaking.

The Girl Scout motto (which has only changed slightly since what's displayed here) is in the middle, and it's surrounded by 10 images relating to the various activities/badges in which the Girl Scouts participate. Such as:

Homemaking! Check out the Girl Scout emblem on her apron! I love it!

Outdoors.
Honey! Use a potholder!

You can see the little lazy daisy "trial" image peeking in on the side.

And Arts and Crafts
Um ... where's the hand that's holding the palette?

There are several others that just make me plain giddy. I also love that the sheet is printed in a hunter green color. I have no idea if that was on purpose (keeping in theme with the Girl Scout colors) but I love it all the same.

Sadly, this find is a little bittersweet. I've decided not to continue on as my daughter's Girl Scout leader this year. We've had fun this past year, and the girls in the troop and the other leader have been fantastic, but I just don't feel able to keep up with the administrative end of stuff that goes along with being a Girl Scout Leader. There are a lot of rules, loads of paperwork and - of course - plenty of fund raising. Those things can make for a great organization (obviously) but they are just more than my schedule and sanity can handle right now. I'll miss it, but I'll also be looking for a lot of opportunities for crafting and community service with my daughter on my own. Maybe we'll stitch up some of these images ....

Crafty Finds from Portland: Vintage Embroidery Transfers

The Knitten Kitten has a section of embroidery supplies, and I saved it for the last part of the store that I explored. I grabbed a little white plastic basket, and instantly recognized its contents: wonderful, dreamy vintage embroidery transfers. I thumbed through and opened each and every sheet, determined not to miss anything. Here are some of the ones I brought home:

A sheet of farm designs. I've seen some of these on Hoop Love and (I think) Needlecrafter. There are also some small details that tickle my fancy.



Bird: Hi, pig! What's shakin'?
Pig: Not much. Just hopin' not to become bacon.

har.

Whaddya s'pose the duck is hopin' to find in there?

I love these trees.

And a few other sheets and their fun details:






Isn't that the dreamiest little bench you've ever seen? I want one!

And, finally, here's a little Valentine embroidery transfer.

Actually, that's not all I found. Darn if I'm not saving the best for last ... and another post.

Crafty finds from Portland: Stop 1 - Knitten Kitten

It may have been more than two weeks ago, but I promise, the report on my crafty day with Diane is worth the wait. If you are going to do a crafty day in Portland, you want to do it with Diane. And if you aren't lucky enough to score her as your guide, don't fret. Just pick up a copy of the current issue of Craft magazine, and you can see her report on the crafty highlights of PDX. You can even get a peek at how she put together a comprehensive crafty Google map of Portland. She knows her stuff, and I couldn't have asked for a better, or more fun, tour guide.


We started out with bagels and tea near the Central Library. We chatted non-stop (actually, we did that all day!) and were smiley to the point of being annoying. We also exchanged some crafty gifts.

Here's an awesome bag Diane made for me. It's a partial picture, because - honestly - it's wrinkled from overuse on my part. See that flower fabric there? That's Diane's own design. Yep! I got some of her Spoonflower stash! I was so excited to see it in person, and recognized it instantly. So special. I was blown away by her tiny stitches that secured some adorable ric rac on the outside of the bag, and one of my favorite details of the piece is that she actually added ric rac to the edge of the pocket inside. It's little details like that that make me happy as all get out.

The pin cushion is one of her fantastic steel wool/needle sharpening creations. I can't wait to use it.

Next, we headed off to the Knitten Kitten. I've had Knitten Kitten on my radar since last year's visit to Portland. I tried to go there, and it was closed. I was so disappointed, and knew that if I didn't do anything else on my crafty tour of Portland, I *had* to hit the Knitten Kitten.

Knitten Kitten combines all my favorite things: it's a vintage craft supply thrift store. Those are some of my favorite words. I know that trips to thrift stores of any kind can be hit or miss, so I tried not to get my hopes up. It didn't matter, though, because the Kitten delivered in a big way and exceeded all my expectations. Here's what I found:

Fabric - a lot of these are just scraps, but I don't care. They are scraps of happiness.




I also found a beautiful embroidered table cloth in the "vintage linens" room. I liked it because it uses black in the design, and with most floral embroidered table cloths I've seen, there isn't much black. I lucked out and found four matching napkins in the vintage hankie basket. Score!

The napkins and tablecloth have the sweetest little edging detail.


I also grabbed this hilarious book:

See that big blue one in back? He's actually hollow so you can set him on your bed and use him to hide your PJs. Awww yeah ....

The other big score at Knitten Kitten was vintage embroidery transfers. I'm going to put those up in a separate post - they deserve it. If you are heading to Portland, or are anywhere near Portland, be sure to stop by the Knitten Kitten. It's clean, well-organized and totally worth the trip. Thanks, Diane, for taking me there. :)

Next up: the Embroidery Finds (including one that had me jumping up and down), a Japanese Craft Book Utopia, and Twisted, a fantastic, cozy place that's way more than just a yarn store.

I'd also like to give a huge shout out to some awesome Austin crafters who sent along some of their goods as a special gift for Diane. Diane has already done a great post about her gift, so I'll direct you to her web site to see the beautiful things they sent along.

I will post about Portland, I will!

I am overwhelmed with some deadlines, catching up on work and a complete lack of babysitting. Is July over yet? Eesh. I have so much fabulous stuff to post about Portland, not the least of which is bragging on a group awesome Austin crafters who donated their goods to the coolest sampler gift for Diane you could ever imagine.

But it will all have to wait until at least the weekend. There is no free time right now. :-p

And in sad news, I realized that I left my Obama screen print/embroidery project at Thatch last week in Portland. I'd taken it in to show Sarah and Josh, and folded it up and set it back in the booth. A coconut drink later, and I completely forgot about it. :-*( I've called and left a message with them to see if they found it and if they kept it. Please send all your good, strong crafty mojo this way in hopes of its safe return.

July, go the hell away. Now. Thanks.